


Knowing Me, Knowing You

by MarmeLady_Orange



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Altered Mental States, And a bit of smut… eventually, Angel Death, Angelic Possession, Awkwardness, Baby, Background Character Death, Blow Jobs, But mostly fluff, Canon-Typical Violence, Castiel Makes the First Move, Castiel in the Bunker, Coming Untouched, Condoms, Crying, Dean Has a Sexuality Crisis (although mild), Demonic Possession, Dream Sex, Drinking, Drunk Castiel, Fainting, Fallen Angel Gabriel, Feel-good, Felching, Friends to Lovers, Genie/Djinn, Happy Ending, Headaches & Migraines, Heterosexual Character, I WILL BE ADDING MORE TAGS (AND CHARACTERS) AS I ADD CHAPTERS… NO SPOILERS!!!, Illness, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Infertility, Kidnapping, Kissing, Loss of Powers, M/M, Magic, Maybe a bit of angst at some point, Meddling Gabriel, Mention of burnt bodies, Mention of dead children, Mind Manipulation, Minor Character Death, More mentions of Castiel and April together, NO ACTUAL RAPE… Just a non-con situation that resolves itself real quick., Natural drug-like stuff actually, Nephilim, Nurturing Dean, Oral Sex, Panic Attacks, Pining Dean, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rough Sex, Sexual Fantasy, Sexual Tension, Showers, Sick Castiel, Sick Dean Winchester, Sign Language, Snacks & Snack Food, Switch Castiel, Switch Dean, Tickling, Torture, Witchcraft, Worried Dean, character canonically dead but I brought her back!!!, new prophet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-06-07 11:23:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 67,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6801763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarmeLady_Orange/pseuds/MarmeLady_Orange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas is acting weird.<br/>Dean doesn’t mind as much as he should.<br/>All Sam can do it watch it all unfold and stay out of the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve started writing this a while ago. I know where it’s supposed to be going but I may need some kind of incentive to keep going. I really do expect that sharing the first chapter will just make me keep on writing it. (It is sharing some of my time with this year’s DCBB so posting may not be very regular… but I do hope to finish it before I get to post my DCBB.)
> 
> I can only hope this little "appetizer" will be to your liking. Let me know what you think! :-D
> 
>  
> 
> NOTE: Even though I will add tags as I release chapters, this will NOT be a (too) dark story. I’ll still put extra warnings in the notes as I publish if anything that may be triggering happens.
> 
> NOTE PART II: Yeah… it says explicit… I’m sorry, there’s not much explicit stuff in that very chapter. But there will be… later… eventual smutty goodness to come… yup!
> 
>  
> 
> .

Dean is musing over the content of the fridge, trying to find something to snack on, when it happens.

_Slap!_

He turns around to find Castiel with a devilish grin on his face, holding a towel and preparing to strike again.

“Did you just slap my butt?” Dean asks, confused. Where in the hell did Cas ever get the idea to do that?

“So what if I did?” the angel says, his body locked into an attack position and the towel tight between both hands.

“Pretty sure you don’t wanna start that shit with me, man.” Dean growls as he jumps on his friend to disarm him. It only takes a second for him to steal the towel and start slapping Castiel on the ass with it. Repeatedly.

“All right! I’m sorry! Stop it!” Castiel yells between laughs as he scrambles to get away. He’s eventually able to outrun Dean and fleas into the hall, laughing.

“Yeah, you better run!” Dean calls after him. He shakes his head and drops the towel on the table before going back to look in the fridge. “Moron,” he says, unable to keep a warm smile from tugging on his lips.

~ • ~

Later that same day, Dean is sitting in the library, bored to death over some book about ancient rituals. How his brother would ever find this stuff interesting is beyond him.

So it’s almost a blessing when Cas jumps him from behind and starts tickling his ribs. Sadly for Cas, Dean isn’t ticklish… or at least not in that particular spot. And he’s not about to let anyone know what his sensitive parts are.

Except Cas apparently is ticklish. And very much so Dean soon realizes as the angel thrashes on the floor, wheezing. Before long, Dean is sitting on Castiel’s legs with his hands inside the now half unbuttoned shirt.

“You sorry yet?” Dean says, his fingers hard at work all over Castiel’s sides. The angel howls in laughter, right until Dean’s hand flicks a nipple. It’s an accident but it still makes the former angel yelp and flush, his laughter dying in his throat.

It’s enough to make the hunter stop and move off of his friend, a little flushed himself. “Sorry man, I didn’t mean to—”

Except Dean can’t finish because Castiel is all over him again. He’s not tickling him this time; Instead, he tries to wrestle and pin the hunter to the ground.

“Cas!” Dean says as he counters every one of Castiel’s moves. “What the hell’s wrong with you today?”

“I’m bored.” The angel is out of breath, trying to get out of the hammerlock Dean’s got him in.

“And you thought slapping my ass with a towel or tickling me was the way to go?”

Castiel bucks, still bent on freeing himself, without success.

“I can hold you like this all day, dude. Unless you say you’re sorry.”

The angel tries again to move, making Dean laugh and tighten his hold. 

“Oh, very well then. I’m sorry. Now, get off me.”

Dean complies and sits on the floor next to his friend. “Did I hurt you?” he asks when he sees Castiel rub his arm.

“No… not really,” the angel replies, rolling his shoulders a couple of times. “Even if you did, I guess I would have deserved it.”

“Not sure about deserving it, but horseplay can come at a price, yeah.”

“Horseplay?”

“Roughhousing. Dudes playing around, you know?”

Castiel nods, a concentrated frown on his face but Dean could swear there’s the beginning of a smile on those lips. He too smiles as memories start flowing back. “We used to do that a lot, Sam and me. But so much anymore, for some reason.”

“Do you miss it?”

Dean chuckles as he gets on his feet and extends a hand to Castiel. “I’d say we do enough battling on our day jobs. Instead we just prank each other.” 

He smiles as he remembers the last one he pulled on Sam, when he brushed his armpits with his brother’s toothbrush. Apparently Sam still is none the wiser about that. “Gotta laugh sometimes, you know?”

“Would you prefer that I prank you then?”

Again, Dean starts laughing. “Cas, seriously! You don’t wanna start that shit. Not with me.”

And there it is, Dean’s certain of it; Cas is working real hard to keep himself from smiling. Seems that a prank war is about to happen. He takes a couple of steps toward Cas and shoves a warning finger in his chest.

“Go ahead, Angel. Try your best! Just know that whatever you send my way, you’re getting back three times fold.”

Castiel shrugs, the amused glint in his eyes not faltering. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he counters before leaving the room, some kind of weird spring in his step.

“Damn feather brain,” Dean says in a chuckle as he watches his friend go.

When Sam comes in the library some time later, he has to wonder about his brother’s apparent good mood. “Somebody’s having a good day,” he says as he sits opposite him. “You found a case?”

It’s enough to make Dean school his expression and clear his throat. It’s not like he could – or even wanted – to explain how Castiel’s antics had made him weirdly happy. “Nah… no case… just thinking about… huh…”

Sam raises a hand, having heard enough already. “I’d rather not know. Whatever put that goofy smile on your face has to be something dirty,” Sam warns his brother.

It makes Dean smile even wider. “Well, you know me…” he says, for once grateful that his brother would choose to think he’s just a giant perv. 

“Anyway… Did Cas tell you what he needs so bad in town?” Sam asks as he powers up his laptop. “You think he’s heard of something?” Dean’s confused expression should be answer enough but Sam keeps going. “Cas left ten minutes ago, said he had to go to the store.”

“Didn’t say shit to me,” Dean says with a shrug. “He’s been acting weird all day. Even angels get cabin fever, I guess.” Dean’s goofy smile is back and he doesn’t even try to hide it.

Sam glances at his brother and huffs. “We really gotta find a case, you’re both being pretty weird if you ask me.”

Instead of answering, Dean tries to turns his attention back to the boring textbook but instead slams it shut. He powers his own laptop, suddenly in the mood for some Japanese anime.

“Really, Dean? Can’t you go watch porn in your own room?” Sam says when he hears the telling musical intro to Dean’s favorite site. “How you find this stuff even remotely exciting is beyond me.”

“Says the nerd who gets science boners. You got no imagination, little brother.” Still, Dean relents and grabs his computer to go back to his own room. “I’ll be in my bunk.”

Not that Dean really intends on touching himself right this minute, but who knows what he’ll find as he browses around. Once in his room, he doesn’t have time to press play on a first video that his phone rings. He smiles when he sees Castiel’s name pop up.

“Hey, Cas,” he answers. On the other end of the line is a faint giggle. “Cas?”

“Dean! Do you—” Giggles. “Do you have pigs feet?” More giggles.

“Pigs feet? What do you need them for? A spell? What’s going on?”

Castiel just keeps on giggling, making Dean a little uneasy now. “Cas, are you all right?”

“Dean, just answer the question please. Do you have pigs feet?” And then Castiel giggles some more.

“I don’t know. Didn’t see any in the kitchen so—”

Castiel cuts him off, seemingly irritated. “Dean, you’re supposed to say yes.” There’s a short pause. “This is highly frustrating.”

And then Dean understands. “Cas? Are you trying to prank call me?”

“No!” Exhale. “Maybe…”

“Cas, for this one to work you gotta call a butcher, not me.”

“But you’re the one I want to prank,” the angel answers, all mirth evaporated from his voice.

“Look, if it makes you feel any better, I really thought you wanted pigs feet.”

“You did?”

Dean can’t help but smile at Castiel’s evident happiness. “Yeah, buddy. I did. So you totally got me!” And when Cas giggles again, Dean thinks he could get used to that sound.

Cas hangs up without a single parting word. Dean doesn’t mind so much, his brain ready to pack and go spend some time downstairs. If the still image of that new video is anything to go by, he won’t be able to keep his hands idle for very long.

~ • ~

Dean wakes up some time later, blinking repeatedly and confused to find he had fallen asleep. His computer screen is black save for the glowing 4:36 pm moving around. It changes to 4:37 pm just as he hears a noise coming from the hall.

Someone slides a piece of paper under the door. “Sam? Cas?” he asks, but nobody answers. He goes to grab the note where “I’m leaving!” is written in bold block letters. He knows this isn’t his brother’s handwriting so it only leaves Castiel.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean says as he opens the door. On the other side stands Castiel with a huge smile on his face.

“What’s this?” Dean says, a low growl in his voice. “You can’t leave, man.”

“Turn it around.”

Written much smaller are the words “This is an office prank”. As Dean’s heart decelerates, he crumples the note and throws it back at Castiel, missing his left eye by nothing more than a hair. “That is not funny,” he says. “And we’re not in an office. Again, wrong victim, Cas.”

“Well, an office is for work and we do work together, in a sense. I believe it worked just fine, you looked very much surprised.”

Try devastated, Dean corrects for himself. “Yeah, well… don’t do that again. You leaving isn’t a funny prank.”

“Then what is? I assure you the Internet said this was one of the funnier ones.”

“I dunno man,” Dean grouses, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. “Itching powder in the underwear. Super Glue on stuff. Nair in the shampoo…” Then he thinks for a second before shoving his index finger in the angel’s face. “Just, no more fake leaving or dying, all right?”

“I think I preferred what you called horseplay. It’s less complicated to achieve.”

“Look, I get that you’re bored but I really don’t think that you’re ready for pranks. You’re only gonna hurt yourself if you try.”

Castiel seems to take offense to Dean’s warning because he straightens up and crosses his arms, his features serious once more.

“Male bonding seems to rely on a lot of humorous situations such as these. What do you propose we do instead?”

Once more, Dean is confused. But also kind of amused. “Male bonding? You kinky son of a bitch…You’re talking about the rope thing, right?”

Castiel seems on the verge to explain himself but stops, tilting his head to the side. “I believe what you are referring to is actually called bondage.” He thinks some more. “Would you prefer that we bond in this manner?”

Dean should have known the angel wouldn’t get the joke. And now he hopes he had never brushed the subject as he feels himself flush and tingle at the idea of being tied down. He clears his throat and wipes a hand over his face, hoping the unwarranted images would go away. 

“No, of course not. I was just—I knew what you meant. Just kidding around, you know?”

Castiel nods and smiles while Dean wonders if he hallucinated the shadow of deception on his friend’s features. He must have because, seriously, why in hell would Cas even be disappointed? Dean shrugs it off to him having just woken up and forces himself to smile.

“Look, if you really wanna pull some pranks, why don’t you try getting Sam? I could even help you.”

Once more, Castiel’s smile falls a bit. Clearly, he’s bent on messing with Dean. “Thank you, but it’s fine. I’ll—I’ll find other things to keep myself distracted. Until we find a case, that is.”

“Nothing new on the angel radio?”

“Let’s just say that I have trouble accessing the host lately. I think they’re cutting me off.”

“They can do that?”

“It appears so, yes.”

“So your powers…?”

“Intact, even though I guess I should use them sparingly as it doesn’t take much to drain them out.”

“Huh… Sorry to hear that, man.” Dean grabs the angel’s shoulder and gives it a sympathetic squeeze. “Forget those douchenozzles, all right? You don’t need them ‘cause you got us, right?”

“I do need the host to be at my best capacities.”

“Even without your powers, you’re a thousand times better than they are.” Ignoring the thrum in his heart, Dean smiles again as he grabs his coat from the hook on the wall. “What do you say I go get us some fried chicken? We haven’t had that in a while.”

“With salad for Sam?”

“With salad for Sam,” he promises. “I’ll be back in a jif.”

As Dean walks away, he could swear he hears Castiel giggling again but when he turns around, the angel is nowhere to be seen. “Better not to have messed with my car, Cas,” he still warns to the empty hall, not really believing anyone would be crazy enough to tamper with his baby.

~ • ~

Castiel has just come to sit in the library with Sam when they hear an enraged scream.

“Castiel!”

A couple of seconds later Dean is entering the library, covered in rainbow glitter.

“You son of a bitch, what the hell did you do?” he asks, yelling both in anger and to cover up Sam’s howling laughter. 

“Told ya not to screw with the car, man! D’you have any idea how this shit gets fucking everywhere?” As he says that, he spits out some glitter and tries to rub some off his face, without much success. “Looks like clowns threw up in there, man. So not cool!”

“Would you say this prank was an efficient one?” the angel asks with his biggest smile yet.

“Would I say—Jesus, Cas! That’s the kind of prank you do to people you hate!”

Castiel’s eyes bug out of his skull. “I don’t hate you, Dean. You know that, right? It was just something I read on—”

“On the Internet, yeah, I bet. I hope for your sake that the Internet also told you how to get rid of it all.”

“Dean,” Sam tries to intervene between fits of laughter. But he can’t say anymore than that.

“Shut it, Sam! Unless this was your idea?”

Sam shakes his head while Castiel tries to speak again. “But—”

“You’re lucky that I’m only asking you to clean this shit. But if you ever touch my car again, I swear to god—” Dean closes his eyes in an attempt to calm down. “Just get the hell outta my face.”

As Dean stomps back to where he came from, Castiel stays seated and waits for the younger Winchester to calm down. When he catches the angel’s stare on him, Sam does his best to stop laughing.

“Man, that was a dumb move,” he eventually says, his tone only half sympathetic. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you but I would have hoped you knew by now that you can’t mess with Dean’s car.”

“It’s not like I broke it.”

“Well, you see,” Sam says, pointing at the heap of sparkling dust where Dean had stood, “this stuff’s like sand. It gets everywhere. You spend the day at the beach and no matter how many showers you take, you’ll still find sand in every crack a week later.”

“I never went to the beach.”

“Glitter is even worse than sand. Can’t imagine what it’ll do to the engine if it gets in there.”

A look of grief settles over Castiel’s features as he finally understands why Dean might be so angry. He sends a pleading gaze to Sam. “Can you help me?”

“Dude, I don’t want this stuff getting on me either. It’s your prank, you deal with it.”

“But I don’t know how to make it disappear.”

Without a word, Sam types on his keyboard then turns the computer for Cas.

“Pretty sure you can find the best way to get rid of glitter on here. I’ll go grab dinner.”

~ • ~

Dean is rinsing the soap off his skin for the second time – wondering if scrubbing with sandpaper would help at all – when he hears the shower curtain open behind him. Before he can turn around, two strong hands fall on his back.

“What the hell?” he says as he swivels around to find Castiel standing there without his clothes on. “Cas, you’re naked! Fuck that! I’m naked!”

“Yes, it’s always preferable to be nude while taking a shower, Dean.”

Dean’s hands automatically go down to hide his groin. Not that Castiel had been looking. Only for that does he make sure his own gaze stays up, natural curiosity be damned.

“Cas, dudes don’t hang out in the showers.”

“I beg to differ. I know that often enough, men will share shower rooms. It doesn’t seem to bother them.”

“Yeah, okay, maybe… but they don’t touch each other.”

Castiel frowns. “Again, this is not entirely true. I’ve seen—”

“Jesus, Cas, just—and what the hell’s that shit on your hands?”

“Olive oil. It appears it would be the best way to get rid of glitter from your hair and skin.”

“And you couldn’t just tell me that?”

Castiel’s smile is back. “You told me to clean it up. So that’s what I’m doing.”

Again, Dean could swear he sees this weird light in the angel’s eyes. “Yeah! I meant clean up the car, not me.” Then he’s suspicious again. “And you better not tell me you tried that oil shit on my car. You’d only make it worse.”

“I’m not an idiot, Dean. For your car, a vacuum should be enough. And scotch tape for what the vacuum may leave behind. Now let me help with what’s stuck on you. Please turn around and tilt your head back.”

When Dean obeys, it’s a little despite himself. He shivers when he feels the silky oil being poured onto his head and two hands start massaging his scalp. He closes his eyes, finding his friend’s long fingers to be very soothing.

“So? Is it working?” he asks, his voice a low rumble.

“Too early to say. I read that you have to keep the oil in for ten minutes but I don’t know if I have to massage the whole time or if it just needs to rest.”

“Better just massage to make sure,” Dean says, ignoring how weird it may sound.

“While I do that, you might want to oil your skin too. The bottle’s at your feet. Just do circular motions and—”

“Yeah, got it,” Dean cuts him off as he bends down to grab the bottle. It’s a good thing that it’s made of plastic because it slips from his hands. “Don’t drop the soap,” he mutters, making himself chuckle as he bends down again.

In his back, Castiel is waiting patiently to put his hands back on him. And when he finally does, Dean has trouble holding a contented sigh. He starts rubbing the oil on his torso and arms, glad to see the glitter actually sliding off.

“That’s ten minutes. You can rinse your hair now.”

“Huh… Okay, thanks Cas,” Dean says as he complies. It takes him a while to be somewhat satisfied with the texture of his hair, the oil mostly gone now. When he opens his eyes again, it’s to see that Castiel has never left the room and is looking right at him.

“Come on, man! Why are you still here?” he says, once more hiding his crotch.

“I don’t believe that you will be able to get rid of all the glitter on your own. A lot of what was in your hair is now all over your back.”

“Son of a bitch! All right, just be quick!”

To be honest, Dean also notices more glitter has clung to his front, down all the way to his dick. If the idea of having to slide a oily hand over it to get rid of the glitter is kinda nice, he knows it’s not something that can happen with the angel there with him. Even if said dick seems to be interested in that idea. 

So he scrubs his arms again, his chest, and his abdomen. All the while, the angel’s hands are all over his back, sometimes so low that Dean kind of expects them to get on his butt. The thought doesn’t help with the half stiffy he’s been trying to ignore.

“Look, if we don’t get it all off, it’s not so bad—”

As he says that, Dean feels a finger at the top of his crack.

“Hey! Okay! You’ve done enough, Cas. I can take it from here,” he says, tripping on every other word. “Thanks for the help but—yeah—you can go.”

“Very well. I will now go take care of your car.”

Dean has his back to Castiel but still looks over his shoulder to make sure the angel stays clear of his butt. And that he actually leaves this time.

“I’m sorry, Dean. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

The angel, still naked, doesn’t seem bothered in the slightest, making Dean flush even more. Yet, he can’t seem to bring himself to give Cas any grief about it. “No worries… We’re cool.”

“No worries. We’re cool,” he mocks himself out loud after the bathroom door has closed on Castiel. He drops his head and moves under the spray again, wishing the oil and glitter would just slide down the drain already.

~ • ~

When Dean comes in the kitchen, all dressed-up and mostly glitter-free, he finds his brother and friend seated with a bucket of fried chicken and all the fixings.

“Cas said you were in the mood for some chicken,” Sam says as he grabs a leg from the bucket. “His treat, of course.”

And even though he’d rather be giving grief to the angel about the whole glitter incident, he finds that he can’t because, deep down, that shit was funny as hell. Not that he’s ever telling anyone.

“I guess that’s a good start in getting in my good graces,” he says instead as he sits next to his brother. On the other side of the table, the angel smiles, reassured.

“I didn’t know what you wanted so I told Sam to take a bit of everything,” he says, pointing to the numerous sides.

“Tell me there’s no green beans.”

“Of course there’s green beans.” Sam is a little bit too complacent when he adds some to his own plate. “Eating some greens could only be good for you, Dean.”

“Sure thing, mom!” Dean grabs the mac & cheese for himself, just as smug.

Even Castiel prepares himself a plate, taking only a small amount of everything in order to taste it all. And as he does, Dean can’t help but marvel at the different expressions on the angel’s face. The crinkle of his nose when he’s not sure he likes it, or his eyebrows shooting up when he really does.

“So… what say you?” Dean asks when Castiel has had a bite of everything.

“I understand why you might not appreciate the green beans so much. The lingering taste is quite disturbing,” he answers, making Sam huff. “My favorite vegetable on here has to be the potato.”

“Potatoes are awesome. You like the mashed or fries better?”

“Hard to say,” Castiel says as he dips a fried wedge in the mashed potatoes and gravy. “Both are very good.”

And for the second time that day, Dean tries to ignore the warm flickers in his heart as he takes a bite of his own crispy chicken leg.

 

 

~ To be continued ~


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Cas starts acting weird again, Dean has to try and know why. Except the answers he – eventually – gets are not those he’d been looking for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’VE ADDED NEW TAGS IF YOU WANNA TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE.  
> \------------------------------------------------------
> 
> So… I KNOW Cas is a little OOC in that piece. Not that anyone has said a thing about it, but if you do wonder about it, I assure you that it’s on purpose. There’s a reason for that. (It might take some chapters to know why though…)
> 
> This being said, there’s no smut again in this chapter. Some are getting closer to one another but we don’t get to "watch the show" just yet! :-P
> 
> I’m still hoping you’ll like this chapter enough to keep reading when the next one comes in (sadly, I don’t know when that will be… hopefully soon enough so you don’t forget about it! lol)
> 
> Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a comment or come say hi on [Tumblr](http://marmeladyorange.tumblr.com/).

It’s about fifteen days after the glitter incident that Dean notices Castiel acting all weird again. More than once, he catches the angel with his eyes on him, looking back down the second Dean turns to him.

“D’you need something, buddy?” Dean asks after catching him looking again.

But Castiel doesn’t answer and just shakes his head, turning his attention back to the book in front of him.

“You sure? You look fidgety. Found something?”

“I didn’t find anything, Dean. I’m fine.”

Which, in Dean code, should mean that Cas is all but fine. So Dean gets up to come sit next to Castiel.

“Look… It’d be normal to be all out of sorts. You’re almost entirely human now. But you’ve been before, right? You know how it goes.”

The stare Castiel lands on him makes Dean’s heart skip a beat: The angel is afraid and unmistakably sad.

“I’m sorry it’s so hard on you, Cas. I really am. But if you want my opinion, you’re too good of a guy to be an angel anyway. Most of them are nothing but crazy fuckwads.”

“It wasn’t always like that, Dean. We were strong once. United. But you’re wrong in saying that I’m any better than they are. I’m flawed, always have been. According to our Father, humans are favored over angels. How can I even start to believe I deserve to be one of them?”

And yeah, that’s something Dean knows a little too well, being plagued with self-doubt and feelings of unworthiness.

Dean thinks back to some cases they’ve stumbled upon where the monsters had just been really shitty human beings. “You know there are humans out there that don’t even deserve to be called that. And they were born into it. So if someone deserves to be human, it’s you Cas. Whatever crap you might have done, you’ve outweighed it with all the good you did. All you gotta do now is forgive yourself.”

There’s a layer of irritation in Castiel’s tone. “How about you, Dean? Do you forgive yourself? I remember after I pulled you from hell, you didn’t believe you deserved to be saved, or anything for that matter. I’ve done far worse than you ever did.”

Both men stop speaking, their moral suddenly pretty low. Still, Dean tries to laugh it off. “To think that I was trying to cheer you up. Now we’re both depressed.”

“And thirsty,” the angel adds, making Dean raise an eyebrow at him.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Well… it is the Winchester way, isn’t it?”

~ • ~

Three hours later, they’re in a dive out in Hastings, chugging beer after beer. If Dean is only a little tipsy, Castiel is pretty drunk. As for Sam, he’s sitting with them but isn’t as eager to drink. When Dean starts pestering him about it, the younger Winchester huffs and rolls his eyes.

“Somebody’s gonna have to drag your stupid drunk asses back home.”

“Oh, yeah,” Castiel agrees, then giggles. “I can’t fly ‘nymore. I’ve flown drunk once. Remember, Dean? Remember the whore? She was so mean…”

There’s only person Dean remembers who could be qualified as a whore. “Chastity?”

“No, no, no, Dean. The other whore, the one you killed.” 

Okay, maybe there had been another one deserving of this monicker. “Oh… April.”

“The Whore of Babylon, Dean. The. Whore. Of. Babylon.” The angel sighs loudly before leaning his head on Dean’s shoulder. “I miss the Apocalypse… those were much simpler times.”

“You kinda died,” Dean says, not minding the unusual closeness of his friend. “Twice!”

“But I came back. I always come back.” The angel tilts his head, trying to catch Dean’s gaze. “Why do I always come back, huh? Raphael didn’t come back. Gabriel didn’t come back. Balthazar didn’t come back. Anna didn’t either… But me, and you, and your brother… We keep coming back. Why is that, Dean?”

Except Castiel doesn’t wait for an answer and pushes himself off the hunter to run through the front door.

“Cas!” Dean calls, even though his friend is long gone. “Where did he go?” he asks his brother who shakes his head.

“What do you think? He’s probably puking his guts out in the alley.”

“Why didn’t he go to the bathroom?”

Sam shrugs and takes a swig of his own lukewarm beer. “D’you think you guys might wanna go back now? It’s getting kinda late.”

Dean takes a look around, trying to find a reason to stay. Until Castiel comes back to sit against him once more.

“Not feeling good,” he mumbles. “I wanna go home.”

~ • ~

Turns out Castiel may not have been as drunk as they first thought. Because hangovers don’t last this long.

“It’s been four days, Sam. Something’s wrong with him.”

“I know, but what do you want me to do about it? I’m no doctor.”

“Yeah… me neither. I think we should bring him to the hospital.”

“It looks a lot like the flu, Dean.”

“I don’t remember the flu making anyone start babbling about senseless shit that happened in the beginning of times. Or needing the lights off at all times. Like you said, you’re no doctor so I don’t think you can diagnose the guy. If it’s the flu, it could be a new strain or—”

“All right, I guess we might as well have him checked out.”

Four hours later, Dean and Sam are in the waiting room of the local hospital’s ER. Castiel had been called to an examination room almost an hour ago and since then, no news.

“What the hell’s happening, Sam?”

“I don’t know, Dean. Maybe they did some tests and are waiting for the results.”

“Then why doesn’t he come and wait here with us?”

Sam shrugs and goes back to read the book he had brought, knowing it might take some time. As for Dean, he glances at the muted TV on the wall, tapping his foot impatiently.

“Dean and Sam Smith?”

“Yeah!” both brothers say as they get up to face the doctor who’s addressed them.

“I’m Dr. Zaman. I examined your brother, if you could please follow me.”

Because she turns around to lead the way to an examination room, Sam and Dean send each other worried glances.

“How’s Cas? Is he okay?” Dean asks the second the door closes behind them

The doctor sits next to a small table and gestures for them to sit in front of her. “He will be, but he’ll need to stay here for at least a week. Maybe more if the infection is too difficult to eradicate.”

“Infection?”

“He has bacterial meningitis, which is the most vicious kind. He’ll need to be monitored while getting the antibiotics. He said you all live together?”

“Yeah.”

“And tell me… how have you guys been feeling? Any flu symptoms like Castiel? Dizziness? Sensitivity to light? Anything at all?”

“Nope,” they both say, now looking a bit alarmed. “Is that shit contagious?” Dean asks, doing his very best not to start scratching.

“It is, yes.”

Dr. Zaman starts examining them, takes blood samples, makes them move in certains ways, takes their temperatures. She soon sits back at the desk to write them each a prescription.

“Now, you boys seem fine to me. Still, since you all live together, I’ll have you take some precautionary antibiotics. And you should do a nice cleaning up at home, wash and sanitize everything.”

Sam nods and gets up. “Thank you, Doctor.”

Dean soon follows. “Yeah, thanks! Can we see Cas now?”

“Go to the front desk and ask for him, they’ll be able to tell you what room he’s in.”

Another ten minutes later, Sam and Dean are riding an elevator up to the tenth floor where Castiel has been sent. They find the room almost immediately, the sick angel lying in the first bed near the door.

“Hey, Cas,” Dean says as they walk to his bed, each brother taking place on either side. “It’s pretty dark in here, don’t you think?” Dean adds, a hand already grasping at the privacy curtain.

“Please leave it, Dean. The light has been hurting my eyes so I really enjoy the subdued lighting. Although it still feels a little too bright.”

Without a word, Dean takes the sunglasses hanging from his front shirt pocket. “Here… put those on.”

Castiel complies and smiles in relief. “Thank you, Dean. That’s much better.”

“So… your doc told you that you gotta stay here for a little while?”

“Indeed. Although I’m quite confident that the remainder of my grace may help in healing much faster than most.”

“Let’s hope so.”

Seeing Castiel lying in the hospital bed with an I.V. drip and wearing one of those awful gowns is making Dean feel a little sick in the stomach. His hand, the one closest to the bed, is itching to just grab Cas’s own, or his shoulder, anything. If only to make sure the angel is really there and breathing.

It’s a blessing that Sam is there with them because otherwise nothing would get done. “When we come back tomorrow, we’ll bring you back your PJs and personal hygiene stuff. We’ll have to throw out your toothbrush and stuff so we’ll buy you new ones. Anything else you’d like? Books, music…?”

“I would love to keep reading that collection of legends from the Mesopotamian Sea. Might as well bring the three others volumes too, if I have to stay here. But I don’t see how I could have music. I wouldn’t know what to ask for, quite frankly.”

“I’ll lend you my mp3 player, Cas. The music on it is awesome.”

Castiel’s feeble – yet warm – smile is all the thanks Dean needs.

~ • ~

“When do I get the congratulatory flowers?”

“The what?” Dean asks, looking up from the magazine he’s been reading while Cas read his own book.

“Congratulatory flowers… I’ve seen them being delivered to the patients. Do we all get a bouquet?”

Dean is very tempted to laugh but refrains himself, knowing the angel might not know about most human customs. “It’s kind of traditional to give flowers to people that have to spend time in the hospital. New mothers, sick folks, you know? Like their families bring flowers and gifts.”

“I see,” is all Castiel says as he casts his head down and sighs. “The young girl who stayed in the bed near the windows, she got a lot of flowers. And stuffed animals too. Even a fruit basket. She must be loved a whole lot.”

“I don’t think you can quantify love from the amount of gifts you get,” Dean says, trying to ignore how maybe Cas could use a little pick me up after being stuck in that room for five days. 

“I guess.”

Without another word, Castiel turns on his side to lie with his back to Dean. “I’m very tired.”

“All right. I’ll be back later with Sammy, okay?”

Castiel hums but keeps his back turned so Dean leaves. Since Sam has the car, Dean decides he might as well go to the cafeteria and have lunch. A late lunch, but a lunch nonetheless.

He stays down there for close to two hours, waiting for Sam to come join him. And while he waits he eats, reads, ogles the nurses, and fiddles with his phone. He also tries to ignore the little boutique at the far end of the cafeteria with its displays of flowers, stuffed animals and various candies.

Then he’s drumming his fingers on the table and tapping his foot in a vain attempt to distract himself from the giftshop. He tries to reason with himself, how dudes don’t buy flowers or cute gifts to their guy friends. If it was Sam, he might have brought something, like a book, but Cas? Wouldn’t it just be weird?

And as he mulls this over, he doesn’t even realize that he’s heading for the shop to browse the merchandise. It’s only when he’s back where he had been sitting that he realizes he’s bought an arrangement of blue flowers with a stuffed bee and a fancy jar of bourbon honey.

“Wow! Is that all for Cas?” he hears his brother say, startling him.

“Huh… Hmm… Yeah!” Dean chuckles, trying to hide his embarrassment. “He was wondering when he’d get his congratulatory gift, thought the hospital gave everyone flowers and shit.”

“Well, that’s nice. Hadn’t thought about it either. Maybe I should go get—”

“This can be from both of us, Sam,” Dean says, glad it might take some of the pressure off of him. “You wanna go up?”

“Of course. Lead the way.”

More than once, Dean is tempted to just drop everything in the trash as they walk back to Castiel’s room. Which is, in itself, quite ridiculous and Sam would have a field day trying to understand what’s going through Dean’s mind.

But all of Dean’s insecurities melt away when he sees the delight on Castiel’s face when he drops the gifts on the side table. And for half a second, he’s tempted to say that it’s from him alone and not from the both of them.

“Dean, Sam… This is so beautiful.” He looks up at Dean, his expression almost beatific. “You remembered about the bees.”

The hunter huffs and shrugs. “Yeah, well… it’s kinda hard to forget, with that stunt you pulled. All naked and shit.”

Castiel tilts his head, not a drop of shame in his face. “Of course I had to be nude. How else would I have been able to commune with them?” he explains as he opens the lid of the honey jar and dips a finger in it.

Dean knows there’s nothing he could answer to that. And anyway, he finds his mind can’t focus on much as he watches Castiel bring his finger in his mouth and sucks the nectar off. He rubs the back of his neck and shrugs again, turning to go sit in the chair already occupied by Sam.

“Dude!”

“What?”

“That’s my chair.”

Sam rolls his eyes and turns back to Castiel, ignoring his brother who pouts as he sits on Castiel’s bed. “So, Cas… How are you feeling? Getting better?”

“I think so. The doctor says it’s been caught early enough to not be too worrisome.”

Dean visibly perks up. “So you’re coming home soon?”

“She didn’t say but I do feel better. I really think the last of my grace is helping a whole lot. Did you know that it was quite a dangerous illness?”

Frankly, Dean can’t be surprised to see his brother’s expression turn serious as he nods. He probably had researched the thing. Something Dean himself hadn’t found the courage to do. As long as Cas was doing better, there were no reason to start panicking about stuff that might not happen.

“I’m just glad you’re doing good, buddy,” Dean says, softly grabbing at his friend’s knee.

~ • ~

Castiel is doing good enough to be sent back home three days later. When he’s ushered back to his room by Dean, he almost chokes at the stench of bleach.

“What’s that smell?” he asks, a hand over his mouth and nose.

“Cleanliness.” Dean drops Castiel’s bag on the bed before turning back to Cas. “I may have gone a little overboard with the sanitization thing. Forgot the air circulation lacks a bit. But it’ll get better.”

“Thank you, Dean,” Castiel says softly before taking the hunter in his arms to hug him. “I’m sorry to have been such a burden lately.”

Although surprised, Dean hugs his friend back. “You’re no burden, Cas. It’s just part of being human, you got sick and now you’re okay.”

Castiel hums and nods into Dean’s neck, making him shiver. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he says, his lips catching onto Dean’s collarbone on every other word.

There are the shivers again.

“All right, s’all good,” Dean sputters, getting more and more embarrassed. Except Castiel doesn’t seem to want to let him go. “Cas, buddy… hugs have to end at some point.”

“Why?” he says after letting out a pleased sigh.

“Just ‘cause,” Dean insists as he evades his friends arms. Except that he’s almost tempted to go back in there, where it’s warm and comfortable. “You might wanna sleep a bit before dinner. You look tired.”

Castiel shrugs and turns away. “I’m not tired, I’m sad.”

“Sad? Why?”

As sole response, Castiel pushes his bag off the bed and sits against the headboard. With a demure smile, he pats the space beside him. “Would you sit with me, Dean? Please.”

After hesitating a bit, Dean walks to the bed and sits near Castiel. “What is it, Cas? Something bothering you?”

“No… maybe.”

And without the slightest of warnings, Castiel dips forward and catches Dean’s lips with his, making him cower back.

“What the hell?” Dean says, more surprised than anything.

“Isn’t this how humans comfort each other?”

“Well… you just can’t go and start kissing strangers ‘cause you wanna feel better,” Dean explains, deliberately ignoring how that’s pretty much all he does himself.

“We’re not strangers, Dean.”

“No, I know… What I mean is—”

The sadness is back on Castiel’s face as he looks down at the hands he crossed on his lap. “That’s all right, I get it. But you know I’m not contagious anymore, right? Dr. Zaman said it could be caught through saliva, but I’m okay now.”

“Cas, it has nothing to do with you being contagious or not.” And quite frankly, Dean doesn’t even know anymore what it has to do with. Because he’s thought about it before. More than once.

“I’d like to sleep now, if you wouldn’t mind,” Castiel says as he lies down.

Without a word, Dean walks out of the room. He goes back to the library where Sam is reading… again!

“You took your time,” he says with a smirk. “Is Cas doing okay?”

“Yeah, yeah… wanted to sleep some more.”

“Good… so, get this! ’Been talking with Eileen and—”

“Jeez, you guys talk a lot. Well… you sign a lot.”

Sam ignores his brother’s teasing tone and continues. “She’s in Colorado, near Grand Junction. Says there’s a case there that she needs help on.”

“Ah yeah? What kind?”

“She’s not sure, and even with all she’s found so far, I really don’t know what she could be dealing with.”

Dean nods as he sits down across his brother. “When do we leave?”

“I’m leaving early tomorrow. I’d rather you stayed here with Cas.”

“Why? You don’t know what’s out there! I think I should—”

“Dean!” Sam insists, sending his brother a warning gaze. “You’re not coming. And I’m gonna be working with Eileen, I won’t be alone.”

“Oh!” Dean grins when he finally gets it. “All right, little brother. You go get your Irish princess and I’ll stay here with Cas.”

~ • ~

The next day, Dean is sitting in the war room and browsing the Internet when Castiel walks in.

“I was starting to wonder if you’d ever wake up,” he says without looking up. All that answers him is an annoyed grunt. He glances at Castiel and almost laughs at the sight. “Jeez, Cas! You look like you’ve been caught in a storm or something.

Because Cas really does look awful, although Dean finds it actually adorable; his hair is sticking up every which way, he still has pillow marks on his face, and his pajama top is only half buttoned.

“I need coffee. I’d always have coffee at the Gas & Sip in the morning.”

“You really look like you need it,” Dean agrees as he gets up. “Come on!”

He leads the way to the kitchen, making sure Cas is following. Once in the kitchen, he dumps that morning’s brew to start a new batch. As he does, he explains it all to Cas, showing him where everything’s at. It’s all stuff Castiel should have known already but as long as he was an angel, he never needed caffeine or food. So kitchen pretty much equals new territory.

“All we gotta do now is wait for the drip to be done with.” He leans against the counter with his arms crossed, looking at Cas. “You must be hungry,” he said with a frown, “You didn’t eat since we got back here yesterday.”

“Sam brought me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with tea yesterday night. He remembers I used to love that.”

“I remember stuff too,” Dean says, hating to think that his brother could know Cas better than he does. “I remember that you love burgers, and burritos. And bees.”

“Yes, you do.”

They don’t say another word until the coffee is done brewing and Dean places a full mug in front of Castiel. “Milk? Sugar?”

“Neither, thank you.”

And although it’s early afternoon, Dean fills a mug for himself and comes to sit next to Cas. “Better?” he asks when the angels sighs after a first sip, both his hands around the cup.

“Much.” He turns his eyes on Dean who kinda chokes on air when he sees the sadness in his eyes again. “I had forgotten how being human is hard, and redundant.”

“How so?”

“Waking up is just so—I love to sleep, but waking up is just awful. For a second, you relish at the sensation of being alive and then all you’ve forgotten during the night hits you at once. And you have to endure this everyday. Same with bodily functions… You’re never done with those. I’d stop drinking or eating so I wouldn’t have to go to the bathroom but then I’d die.”

This time, Dean doesn’t even bother trying to hide his amusement. “You can’t focus on that stuff, Cas. And you know what? You’ll get used to it. You once did, right?”

“I did… doesn’t make it any easier.”

“Probably not. But there’s other stuff that’s real fun though. You know, good food, good booze, kissing, sex—”

“I agree. But none of these things happen quite as often as the others.”

“Except food or drink.”

“Yeah, but then I have to eliminate it. It does temper with the joy a bit.” As he says that, Castiel scooches his chair closer to Dean’s. “I’d imagine that kissing and having sex on a daily basis would soften the harshness of living. Don’t you think, Dean?” he says, leaning his head on Dean’s shoulder.

“Maybe,” is all Dean can muster to say, the weight of Castiel’s head on his shoulder almost unbearable. He licks his lips, keeping his eyes forward. He knows that if he turns to Cas, the odds are against him.

“I can hear your heart it’s beating so hard,” Castiel murmurs, putting his hand over the hunter’s chest. “Mine is too,” he says, taking Dean’s hand to place it on his own heart. “What does that mean?”

Dean clears his throat, trying to ignore the heat beneath his fingers. “Too much caffeine, probably.”

“I’m not even done with my first cup. I know why my heart’s beating. Why is yours?”

Against his better judgement, Dean turns to look at Castiel. His liquid blue eyes are like a beacon, urging him to dive in.

“Fuck it!” he says before leaning in to latch onto Castiel’s lips. They both sigh as their mouth start working together, softly at first then more hungrily.

At some point, they both have turned on their chairs and to face each other, their legs slotted together and their hands holding onto their backs, crushing their bodies together.

When they come up for air, Dean leans his forehead to Castiel’s with his eyes closed, afraid of what he could see if he opened them.

“Dean. Open your eyes,” Castiel says softly. To encourage him, he lightly kisses his lips.

“Don’t wanna.”

“Why?”

Dean shrugs, not really knowing why he’d rather not look at Cas. To be frank, he’d rather not open his eyes ever again. He wants to stay like this forever. “I wish you could still stop time.”

Castiel chuckles before giving another small pack onto Dean’s lips. “It kinda feels like we did just now, don’t you think?”

And finally, Dean opens his eyes and smiles. 

“Yeah… we did.”

 

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some cases just end up being giant headaches… literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know… it took me a long time to have a new chapter ready for you. But I do have an excuse… I was knee deep into this year’s DCBB. The good news is it’s now DONE and I can finally concentrate on this little story here.
> 
> Which means I’m hoping to be able to update more often now. I won’t promise because we never know what can happen (and gishwhes is right around the corner) but I do hope you’ll like this little chapter… and the little cliffhanger. (evil laughter?)
> 
>  **ATTENTION:** As I said before, I will be updating the tags as I add chapters, mostly to keep some elements of surprise. So please make sure that you take a look at those before reading on, just in case I come to add stuff you’d rather not read about, or hate. I’m still doing my best not to add big problematic things that could make people uncomfortable, but it’s not up to me to decide what works and what won’t for anyone.
> 
>  
> 
> .

When Dean and Castiel barge into the tiny secluded house in Wichita, they fear it’s already too late; the angel has already attacked the mother and is just about to do the same to her child.

“No!” they scream at once. The angel lifts a glowing palm toward Dean who’s coming at him with an angel blade drawn high.

“Dumah!” 

The angel’s attention shifts to Castiel, his palm still glowing. “Castiel,” he hisses. 

For a millisecond, the angel forgets about the hunter or the kid. It gives just enough of an advantage for Dean to bury his blade in Dumah’s heart. The angel soon falls on his face, his grace dissipating in an explosion of light as his wings get singed into the wooden floor.

When he opens his eyes again, Dean sees Castiel already kneeling next to the mother. He looks up at Dean, sorrow clouding his features. “She’s gone,” he announces before taking the crying child in his arms. “But at least we saved him.”

Dean nods and takes a quick tour of the home to make sure nobody’s hiding in the shadows. He comes back holding an overstuffed diaper bag and a pack sack. “I think she was getting ready to bolt,” he says, dropping the bags near the door.

Castiel is now pacing in the living room, delicately bouncing the baby to try and calm him down. “He knows his mother is dead.”

“He’s probably just hungry,” Dean replies, swallowing hard when he sees Castiel scowling at him. “Or he could know about his mom, yeah!” he complies as he takes his phone to call his brother.

“Hey, Sammy. We didn’t get here in time, the mom’s dead. Could you look up where we can go and drop the kid close by? Or we could leave him on church steps? Is that still a thing?”

“Dean,” Castiel says.

Dean turns to Castiel, his index finger raised. “I’d rather not have anyone see me do it, Sam… No, of course I don’t want the kid to die but—or we could leave him here for the cops to find, that’s true.”

“Dean!” Castiel tries again, more forcefully this time.

“Wait a sec, Sam,” Dean says, a little frustrated now. “What, Cas? What is it that can’t possibly wait a single minute?”

Castiel’s lips purse – something he know doubt picked-up from Sam – but he still says what he needs to say. “The baby’s a nephilim, Dean. We can’t abandon him to unknowing caretakers… they won’t know how to deal with him.”

“Son of a bitch! Sam, gonna have to call you back!” Dean says before hanging up. “Are you sure, Cas?”

“Positive,” the former angel says, unwrapping the blanket to show the enochian birthmark inside the baby’s left thigh. “Every nephilim is born with it; God’s way to make sure they can never hide.”

Frowning, Dean looks at Castiel and the screaming child. “Now what? What’s gonna happen to him?”

With a sigh, Castiel transfers the baby into Dean’s arms. “For starters, you have more experience than I do. Please make him stop,” he says before going back to give the mother’s body a quick exam and lay a blanket over her. “The mother was human so let’s hope we can find clues as to who the father is.”

“How the hell do you want us to do that?” Dean says in a low voice, the child somewhat calmer now that he’s in his arms. “It’s not like there’s a registry, is there?”

“Of course not. And it doesn’t seem like anybody else but the mother and child lived here. But whoever asked Eileen to look into this has to know something.”

While Castiel goes to look around the apartment some more, Dean paces around to calm the baby who started crying again. He holds him up to sniff his diaper, kinda glad to find no suspicious smell. That’s when he notices the bottle of milk that had rolled under the armchair.

“The bad angel came in and interrupted dinner time, didn’t he?” he coos as he goes to pick-up the bottle. It’s not even warm anymore and if there’s something he knows, it’s that he can’t reheat that stuff. “Let’s go take a look in the kitchen, see if Mommy prepared some more of those for you.”

When he finds another bottle ready in the fridge, Dean sighs in relief. He knows how to prepare formula but it’ll be faster this way. He spots a vibrating chair on the table and places the baby in it. “You’re a lucky kid, getting your own magic fingers chair,” Dean says as he turns it on. It seems to ease the baby’s cries a little. “Don’t you worry, little man. Uncle Dean’s got you covered.”

Castiel walks back into the living room some time later, holding a couple of books. Dean is in the armchair, the baby calm and sucking on warm milk.

“He was hungry after all,” Dean says softly, glancing up at Cas. “D’you find something?”

“Yeah… a baby book, or so it says on the cover. Also found what looks like the mother’s diary.”

“Did you read them?”

“Can’t really do this now, Dean. But I did find out she called her child Micah.”

Dean can’t hold back a disgusted pout. “Sounds like a girl’s name.”

“In Hebrew, it means gift from God.”

“Huh… d’you think she knows the dad’s an angel? She could have thought she’d be giving birth to Jesus or something.”

“I highly doubt that.” 

Castiel starts flipping through the baby book while Dean pulls on the bottle to sit Micah up.

“Burpin’ time,” he says, holding the baby’s chin and tipping him forward to softly rub his back.

“You’re good with him. He likes you, I can tell.”

“A baby’s gonna like anybody that puts a nipple in his mouth.” A shit eating grin appears on Dean’s face. “Then again, it just might be something we have in common,” he adds, making Castiel huff and roll his eyes.

“Real classy, Dean.” He closes the baby book and looks up. “Will you be done soon? We can’t stay here too long.”

“No, I know. Look, why don’t you bring the kid’s stuff out to the car. I think I saw a set of keys near the door, we gotta grab the baby seat from his mom’s car too.”

“Anything else we need?”

“I’ll handle the rest. We’ll be out soon.”

After Micah’s final burp, Dean goes back to the kitchen to put him in his vibrating chair again. He finds a garbage bag and starts dropping every little thing he finds; empty bottles, a cleaning brush, some kid utensils and dishes, pacifiers, etc. 

In the freezer, there’s what looks like frozen milk – the mother’s, no doubt. He almost takes it but they have a long road ahead and nothing to keep it frozen, or even cold; they’ll have to stop and buy baby formula instead. Lastly, he pulls on the chair’s power cord and drops it in the bag. He makes sure the baby’s secured in the chair and grabs the handle – he’s certainly not leaving that miraculous machine behind.

Castiel is leaning on the passenger door when Dean comes out. They’re pretty lucky the little farmhouse is so remote that there’s nobody to see them lurking around. “You forgot to take the kid’s bed,” Castiel says when Dean goes to drop the garbage bag full of stuff in the trunk.

Dean is about to explain how stupid that would be when he spots the teasing smile on his boyfriend’s face. “Real funny, genius. Instead of being a smart ass, hold the chair while I transfer the kid.”

Once Micah is secured in his car seat with a blanket draped over him, Dean goes to sit behind the wheel, eager to leave this place behind. Still, he takes a second to lean toward Cas and kiss him soundly on the lips. “It’s gonna be okay,” he says as he starts the engine.

A soft smile appears on Castiel’s lips. “I know, I’m not worried, Dean.” He turns to look at the house as they drive away. “We have to call the police. We can’t leave her alone like this.”

“We’re gonna have to wait a little bit, Cas. The second they realize a baby disappeared, the whole world’s gonna be looking for him. Let’s wait until we’re at least halfway to the bunker.”

~ • ~

The three men are in Dean’s room, standing around the crib Sam found at a second-hand store in Superior, Nebraska. He hadn’t wanted to take the chance of going anywhere in their own state or buying anything too expensive.

“Why my room, Sam?” Dean asks, his eyes on the sleeping baby.

“I wouldn’t know the first thing about taking care of a kid, Dean. Pretty sure the same goes for Cas but he sleeps in here now and—”

“So what? I’m the designated nanny?”

Castiel and Sam glance at each other before shrugging. “I don’t mind shouldering the responsibility, Dean. I would need some help, though. My sole experience in taking care of an infant was quite disastrous, if you remember correctly.”

“And I’ll be busy trying to find the baby’s actual father,” Sam adds, making Dean groan.

“You know, Sam… any day now, Eileen could call to say she’s pregnant.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but we use protection.”

“Don’t care… I won’t be the only one feeding the kid and changing his dirty diapers.”

Castiel’s hand slips in his, soft and warm. “I’ll help you, Dean… it’s okay.”

That’s all Sam needs to leave the room without looking back. Whatever he can do to not be on diaper duty, he’ll do it. Even if it means that he has to spend the rest of his life holed up in the library doing research.

“The kid’s cute though, ain’t he?” Dean says, already over his brother abandoning them.

“He is. He’s blond, just like you. And he’s got blue eyes, just like me.”

“Yeah, I was really blond as a kid. But as far as the eyes go, all babies have blue eyes when they’re born. So that could still change.”

“Maybe his eyes will end up green, like yours too.”

Dean sighs, not liking where this seems to be going. “Cas… you know we can’t keep the kid, right?”

“What if we never find the father?”

The baby lets out a tiny sigh, prompting Dean to pull Cas out of the room. He leaves the door ajar before turning to Cas again, holding one of the baby monitors he found in the packed bags.

“We’re gonna have to find someone to take care of him. Somebody who’s in the life and won’t be spooked at the idea of raising a nephilim.”

“Maybe Sheriff Mills would be willing to take him. She took in Claire and Alex.”

“Claire and Alex are all grown up. Taking care of a baby is a lot more work. I don’t think Jody would go for it, she has a job to go to.”

Castiel nods, pensive. “If Hannah had still been alive, I might have been able to—”

“No angels, Cas! We just saved him from being killed by one.”

“I know… what do you suggest we do, then?”

Dean shrugs, making the monitor bounce in his hand. “Until we can find the dad, we’ll have to take—” 

Grabbing his head with both hands, Dean folds over, letting the monitor drop to the floor. “Fuck!”

“What’s wrong?” Castiel asks as he tries to hold the hunter upright.

“My head,” Dean answers in a wince before standing straight again. “Just had this sharp pain… like I’ve been stabbed in the brain or some shit.”

“I can assure you that nobody stabbed you,” Castiel says as he picks up the device and batteries. “Does it still hurt?”

“Nah… was just like a flash. I’m fine now.” He turns to take a look inside the room. The baby is still fast asleep. “Did I break it?” he asks, seeing Castiel putting the batteries back inside the monitor. 

They both sigh in relief when it lights up again. Castiel grabs Dean’s wrist and pulls him to kiss his temple. “No need to worry Sam with this, I’m fine now,” Dean says with a pointed look to his boyfriend before walking away to go join his brother in the library.

Half and hour later, they’re listening to Sam reads bits of the diary when they hear the baby stir and start crying. The three men glance at the flickering lights on the monitor before looking up at each other.

“Not it!” Sam declares before going back to the dead woman’s diary.

Dean rolls his eyes and huffs. “You guys can’t expect me to do everything,” he says, his eyes never leaving Cas’s.

“I agree. But right now, I wouldn’t know what to do. Care to show me?”

“Fine!” Dean says as he gets up. He’s about to leave but instead turns to his brother. “I’ll remember that, bitch! You better never ask me to babysit your kids!”

“You’ll beg me to babysit my kids, jerk!” Sam answers with a grin.

It doesn’t matter that his brother is right, Dean still gives his brother the finger as he’s being pulled away by his boyfriend.

~ • ~

“It’s a great idea you had,” Dean says, his mouth warm on Castiel’s neck. “I don’t think kids should sleep in their parents room anyway.”

Castiel sighs, his fingers carded in Dean’s hair. “We’re not his parents.”

“Adults then… especially when said adults are as horny as you.”

There’s a rumble of laughter bubbling from Castiel’s chest but what comes out is a choked moan when Dean drops his head to start sucking on a nipple. He kisses his way down Castiel’s abdomen until he reaches the hem of his pajama pants, pulling them down just enough to dip his nose in the patch of hair he uncovers.

“If I’d known you’d be such a tease, I wouldn’t have seduced you.”

“Liar,” Dean replies as he nuzzles at the growing bulge, tempted to pull down the pants with his teeth. Instead, he tugs on them with his hands as he kisses down Castiel’s dick, dipping his tongue in the slit. “You love it.”

All that answers him is a trembling lament and a sharp yank of his hair. He would probably have said something about it had his mouth not already been full of Castiel’s dick. And there’s not much in this world that could divert him from the warm weight in his mouth. Not until he gets a load of Castiel’s bitter saltiness on his tongue.

“Dean… hunh… the baby… the baby’s crying.”

Dean tries to ignore it, praying for Sam to stop being a little shit and go take care of Micah. Still, he intensifies his ministrations, hoping to make Cas come quicker. Until he feels the ex-angel trying to push him off of him.

He glances up, wiping his mouth. “How close are you?” He tries to disregard the cries coming from the monitor and how the kid’s now loud enough that they would still hear his scream his head off without the device.

Talking appears to be taking a lot out of Cas. “I can’t… not with Micah… screaming.” He falls back on the bed, his own hand taking over for Dean’s mouth. “I can’t… you go…”

At least, the child crying is enough to temper with Dean’s arousal. As he walks into the next room, he flicks on the light and tries to soothe the baby from his voice only.

“There, there, Micah. Daddy’s here, everything’s okay.” He clears his throat when he realizes what he’s just said. “I mean Uncle Dean… Uncle Dean’s here. But it’s not like you understand a word I’m saying, do you?” he murmurs, although wondering how nephilims would compare to regular kids.

He takes care of Micah’s diaper – nephilims certainly don’t smell any better than humans – then brings him to the kitchen to warm up his bottle. Except he stops by the library to find his brother deep in research with his earphones on. Dean puts the baby in the vibrating chair while Sam looks up and takes his earphones off.

“How come he’s already up?”

“He needed a diaper change and now he’s hungry. Thanks a lot for helping out.”

“Told you… I wouldn’t know the first thing about—”

“Whatever! Can you at least keep an eye on him while I go and prepare his bottle?”

“Yeah, of course. But where’s Cas?”

A little miffed, Dean is pretty tempted to paint a very detailed picture of Castiel’s whereabouts, but he decides against it. Instead, he just pouts and groans as he walks out, promising himself to cock block his brother as soon as he has the occasion.

Five minutes later, Dean is back in the library, the bottle sitting in a tall mug filled with hot water. The baby’s getting impatient, mostly frowning and letting out some type of whiny grunts.

“I know, Mikey. It’s almost warm enough,” Dean says, his voice as soft as he can make it. “Then Uncle Sam will take you in his arms and fill your belly with yummy, yummy milk.”

“Fine,” Sam says as he finally looks away from the computer screen. “But you’re not leaving me alone with him while I do this.”

“Of course not. But you’ll see, there’s nothing to it. The real tricky part is the burping but this little guy’s been doing real good with those so far.” He turns to the kid and smiles. “Haven’t you?”

Dean is delighted by the gurgle that answers him. He takes the bottle to test the temperature on his wrist under his brother’s watchful eye. He then grabs Sam’s arm to drop some milk on his wrist. “See, that’s about how warm the milk should be. Not too hot, but not cold either.” 

He knows he shouldn’t enjoy this much seeing his brother squirming, yet he does. If Sammy finds the idea of feeding the child to be scary, Dean can’t wait to see him try to handle a nicely filled diaper.

~ • ~

“What do you mean, Eileen can’t reach her contact?”

“Well, just that, Dean. He’s not picking up. She’s afraid he might be dead.”

“Or in hiding,” Castiel provides as he comes in the library with Micah in his arms. “Is Eileen in a safe place? Maybe she should come join us here.”

“She’s on her way.” Sam takes the mother’s journal and turns to a page somewhere around the middle. “Jordan wrote here that she met this guy, calls him Steven. They had a one night stand.” He flips the pages some more. “Took a pregnancy test four months later and it was positive. He’s the only guy she ever mentions sleeping with in the last year.”

Dean raises an eyebrow. “Four months? Why did she wait that long for a test?”

“According to doctors, she was infirtile. Until that Steven guy anyway.”

The brothers both turn to Castiel who’s softly rocking the baby to sleep.

“Can angels do that? I mean, they probably can, but… why would they?”

Castiel’s voice is hushed when he answers. “There’s a chance the angel knew what he was doing, but he could have been oblivious too. I know I probably would have been.” He looks down at the child. “Micah may have really been a gift from God.”

“But if the angel daddy didn’t know, how would the other angels? And why kill them?”

It’s Sam who answers, his voice rough. “Because nephilims are abominations. God once flood the Earth to get rid of them.”

“Sam’s right,” Castiel says although he doesn’t share this belief anymore. Not since he’s been tricked in killing the last one by Metatron. Something he’s never been able to forgive himself.

“So if it was an accident, if she was impregnated by mistake… could the dad have been the angel we killed?”

“Purah? No, I don’t believe so. If that were the case, I don’t see how Eileen could have been warned about—”

“Dean!” both Cas and Sam yell when Dean collapses onto the floor.

This, and Castiel transferring him to his chair, is enough to wake the baby up. His wailing, along with Sam slapping his brother’s face, is enough to make Castiel lose some of his usual countenance. He can’t help the tears to well up in his eyes as the hunter brutally comes back to himself. Rattled, Dean pushes his brother off of him a little too forcefully.

“Ease off, Dean! What happened? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Sammy. I… what am I doing on the floor?” He turns to find a stunned Castiel looking at him. “I’m okay, babe.”

“No, you’re not. Was it the same thing as before? Did you get stabbed in the brain?”

“Stabbed in the brain?” Sam parrots. Neither Dean nor Cas seem to want to put his mind at ease. “Stabbed in the brain?” he says again, louder and a little more urgently.

“No worries, Sam. It only feels like a stab in the brain,” Dean says as he gets up, not caring that his legs are still a little wobbly. He’s too busy trying to ignore the fact that he groans like an old man as he does. He bats Castiel’s hands away from him. “I said I’m good.” He pinches the bridge of his nose, his eyes shut tight. “I’ll can’t… it’s too loud…” he says, waving at the screaming baby.

“You said this happened before?” Sam asks as Castiel takes Micah in his arms again to try and calm him down. 

Castiel looks up at his friend, visibly worried. “He didn’t faint before. He had a surge of pain in his head but it only lasted a second.”

That’s all they get to say before hearing another crashing sound coming from the hall.

~ • ~

When Dean opens his eyes, he’s in his bed and the lights are off. He extends a hand to find Castiel’s side empty. He sits up, a little too fast, then he hears him: 

“Dean… don’t try getting up. You need rest.”

Dean fumbles around to find the lamp. “What happened?” Dean’s voice is hoarse and his throat feels like it hasn’t worked in ages.

He finally finds the light and turns it on, having to close his eyes it’s so bright. When he can open his eyes again, he’s surprised to see Cas sitting in the wooden chair, all dressed up in his old suit and tie, and even the trench coat.

“You goin’ somewhere?” he asks. “And how come you’re so far?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I promised Sam I would look over you.”

“Why?” Dean closed his eyes again, the sharp light not helping with the throbbing headache. “Who found me? You or Sam?”

“We both did.”

“Huh… Why don’t you come over here? I could go for some Cas cuddles. You know, just until Micah wakes up.”

The confused look on Castiel’s face is so reminiscent of the old Cas that Dean can’t help but laugh. He’s still laughing when a wave of understanding washes over the angel’s face.

“You don’t remember.”

“Don’t remember what?”

“We found you in an abandoned house, Dean. You’ve been missing for a whole week.”

“No, I haven’t… I had that migraine shit again, tried to go to the bathroom but I don’t think I ever reached it. You found me in the hall. Right?” 

Despite himself, Dean kind of knows Castiel is telling the truth. Because the last nine months? They had felt pretty much perfect… the Winchester kind of perfect anyway. Still, he needs to cling to what he can only hope is true. If none of that shit has ever happened, it means—

“Let me go and get your brother,” Castiel says before leaving the room. Not a minute later, Sam is dashing into the room and hugging him.

“Dean, thank God! I was starting to think you’d never wake up. That djinn juice the witch used did quite the number on you.”

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s a fine line between dream and reality… Dean’s sitting right on it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know… it’s been a while!
> 
> I keep having other stuff to do and, sadly, this story (and its readers) suffer from that. With Gishwhes next week, it means the following chapter may be delayed again. But I’ll do my best to not make you wait for too long.
> 
> WARNING:  
> I know I’ve set that story after the whole Lustiel debacle (so, post Season 11). And usually, I try to keep everything mostly canon, like deaths and characters and stuff. This time I went against my own unwritten rule; I resuscitated Charlie. Actually, I’m mostly acting as if she never died (well, she might have but Cas brought her back and all is right in the world again). I don’t like to spoil things but I thought I’d let you know so it doesn’t make you cringe when you see her mentioned as being alive. (It’s the kind of stuff that would make ME cringe, so I’d rather be safe than sorry)
> 
> I hope you’ll enjoy this chapter. No sex stuff once again, but I promise there’ll be… soon!!! Gotta earn that Explicit rating at some point, don’t I?

“Wanna run this by me one more time?”

“It’s not like it’s complicated, Dean. We went to a bar, you drank too much – no surprise there – and then you left with this girl. Turns out she was a witch. You remember that night, right?”

“Yeah, kinda… except it’s almost been a year for me so it’s kinda hazy, you know? Probably wouldn’t recognize the girl if I saw her again.”

Dean can’t help turning a guilty eye over to Cas who doesn’t notice. Because in real life, Cas couldn’t care less that he went and got with some random girl. Still, Dean would have liked to see some clue that Cas didn’t appreciate it so much.

“How did it take you guys a week to find me? I could have died!” He turns fully to Castiel. “You’re supposed to be an angel, all powerful and shit. Yet, you can’t find me and a measly witch?”

At least, Dean’s increasing anger seems enough to garner some type of reaction from the angel, making him frown and blink. It takes all Dean has not to go hug him and ask for forgiveness. Sam’s intervention at that very moment is a blessing.

“You know our ribs are branded, Dean. If we don’t tell Cas where we are, he can’t find us. And anyway, the witch had her own ways to hide.”

“Yeah, okay… so, what do we know about what she dosed me with?”

“Not much. We’d need another witch to tell us about that. All we know is that there’s djinn blood in it.” Sam’s expression is now concerned, which doesn’t bode well for Dean. “What did you see? Did you—did you see mom and dad again? Like, some kind of ideal life stuff?”

And there it is, the thing Dean would rather not be thinking about right now. Or ever again. “No—just—it wasn’t that much different, you know? We still lived in the bunker, hunted, researched… fun times!”

“Nothing at all?”

“Nope. Would never have known it wasn’t real life.” Dean glances at Cas again. “How’s your grace? Fully functional?”

The squint of Castiel’s eyes intensifies ever so slightly. “Of course. To the point where I should be able to use my wings again soon,” he says, smiling now. “I haven’t flown in far too long.”

Dean nods, his heart kind of torn; he liked the fact that Cas had become fully human in that little dream world of his. He clears his throat and turns to his brother. “What happened to the witch? Can she tell us why she did that crap?”

Sam shakes his head, looking a bit sheepish. “That could have been nice but—”

“I killed her,” Castiel intervenes, making Dean frown. “She was right about to kill your brother, Dean. I couldn’t let her.”

And Dean can’t certainly be mad about that. What he can be mad at is the loss of all those little things he had in the last months, even though there was nothing real about it all. “I’m beat, I’ll go to bed.”

When Dean’s hand goes to grab Castiel’s, he has the mind to stop the movement halfway. He glances at his brother who’s not even looking at him anymore, but Castiel is watching at him intently. Feeling the heat creep on his cheeks, he modifies the movement to do an arm roll and winces when his shoulder cracks. 

“Stiff joints,” he offers before leaving the library.

On his way to his room, he stops to open the door across from his. In the other world, that’s where they had put Micah’s bed. He flicks the light on and his heart sinks when there’s no crib or baby stuff lying around. It’s just another anonymous bedroom like all the others.

“Looking for something?”

Dean turns to find Sam standing not too far behind him. He comes to stand closer and peers inside the room. “What are we looking at?”

“Nothing… just…” He’s at a loss, scrambling to find a reason to be snooping around. “In the other reality, that was Castiel’s room. Just wanted to see if it was any different.”

Sam nods, his lips pinched thin. “It is Cas’s room. Is it the same?”

“Yup… just as bare,” Dean says as he flicks the lights back off. “Nothing’s different.”

~ • ~

“Sam, I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Cas, you saw him, right? He’s not okay.”

Castiel shrugs as he keeps reading the book in front of him. Not that it’s helping in any way shape or form. “I think it’s only normal. He’s lived nine months in this alternate reality, it has to be confusing.”

“But that’s just it, it shouldn’t be. He says nothing was different. How would that be confusing?” Sam closes his own book noisily and huffs. “He’s lying to us.”

“I don’t think we can do much about that. And even if he is, there’s no way calling upon Rowena is gonna help at all.”

“Until we know for sure what that djinn spell was for, we can’t help Dean.” Sam takes his phone to go through his contacts. He finds Rowena, trying to ignore how his contact list just gets weirder year after year. “I got you on my side, right? If she tries anything…”

“Of course. Although my being an angel has never stopped her before.”

Sam nods and places the call. Rowena answers after the first ring.

“Samuel! What a nice surprise. Never thought I’d hear from you again.”

“I got a question for you.”

“What? No hello? Not asking how I’m doing? Were you raised—”

“Not a social call, Rowena. Do you know of any spells that would need djinn blood?”

Sam hears the witch huff, then she giggles. “Djinn blood? How interesting. Where did you hear such a thing?”

“Do you know anything about that or not?”

“Oh, Samuel. Your bedside manners are horrible. Don’t you know that if you want something from a lady, it’ll work better if you play nice? You didn’t even say please.”

“All right, whatever. Please, Rowena, do you know of any spell that needs djinn blood. And if so, what is it for?”

“My dear boy, I may be a great witch, but even I don’t know all the potions by heart. I could look it up, but I won’t be doing this for free.”

“How much?”

This time, Rowena’s laughter is loud and hearty. “I have no interest in money, Samuel. Unlike you and your little motley crew, I can get by without it.”

“Then what do you want?”

There’s a pregnant pause on the line. At some point, Sam even wonders if Rowena has hung up.

“Quite frankly, there’s nothing I need right this minute. But I know for a fact that someday I will need a favor from you. And when that time comes, all you’ll need to do is remember that you owe me one.”

Sam is very much tempted to just hang up and forget the witch ever existed. He hates the idea of being indebted to anyone, especially Rowena. All it takes to help him make his mind is seeing his brother come in the library looking like someone killed his puppy.

“Yeah, all right. Got my word,” he says before hanging up. He plasters a smile – a fake one – on his face and glances at Castiel who’s doing the same.

“Who was that?” Dean asks as he sits at the table.

“Jake… a hunter friend of Rudy’s,” Sam says without missing a beat.

Dean swallows, remembering how Rudy’s dead and burnt because of him. “Gave him your word for what?”

It takes a little too long for Sam to think of something but Dean doesn’t seem to notice. “There’s this vampire he’s tailing, found him a couple of towns over. Promised we wouldn’t intervene unless he asked.”

But Dean isn’t even listening to him anymore, instead eyeing Castiel who’s immersed in his book again. Sam has seen that forlorn look on his brother before. His heart quickens when he remembers exactly when that was, or who it was for; Cassie.

“You all right, Dean?” he asks, startling him. Dean’s expression is impassive again when he turns to his brother.

“Yeah… so, what are we looking for?” Dean asks as he grabs a book from the pile in the middle of the table.

“Anything pertaining to djinns,” Castiel answers, barely looking away from his own book.

“I’m fine, aren’t I? Why look for that crap?”

It’s Sam who answers this time. “Because there’s a reason this happened. And it could happen again, to anyone. Better be prepared.”

Sam’s computer starts beeping before Dean can try to dissuade him.

“Hey, Eileen,” Sam says out loud after answering, waving his friend hello. 

Dean swallows hard this time, looking at his brother trying to sign through their conversation. More often than not, he types whatever he needs to say then signs whatever the girl tells him.

“Sign language is a beautiful means of communication,” Castiel says, also looking at Sam conversing with the hearing impaired hunter. “I like it very much,” he adds, looking back at Dean with what almost look like a smile.

“Yeah,” is all Dean can answer. Anything more substantial would have to wait for the lump in his throat to dissolve. He thinks back to the little things he’d learned in his alternate universe, wondering about the legitimity of it all. 

The response comes as something his brother signs and Dean is convinced he understands. “Did you just say something about angels and babies?” Dean asks, startling Sam who looks at him in shock.

“You understand sign language?”

“I didn’t think I did. What’s with the angels and babies thing?”

If Dean had a lump in his throat before, it now has dropped low in his gut. He waits while his brother turns the computer around so everyone can see Eileen. She waves hello to Castiel and Dean who respond in kind.

“So, get this,” Sam starts, trying his best to sign whatever he says. “Eileen says she’s got a call about a woman and child that are being hunted by angels. Whoever she talked to didn’t say why.”

“Can’t she call them back?”

Eileen must have read Dean’s lips because she shakes her head and starts signing. To his own surprise, Dean recognizes a couple of words but she’s going to fast for him to fully understand.

Castiel starts translating her answer. “The person who called me made sure I couldn’t see their face, only their hands. I’m sure it was a man but I’m also certain it’s not someone I know.”

“Why you?”

“He wanted me to tell you about this. Why he couldn’t communicate with you himself, I don’t know.”

Dean closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He needs to take a second and think about what he’s about to say. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, it means that he’ll have to come clean about his little adventure in another world being different from real life after all.

He opens his eyes to look intently at Eileen. “Wichita?” he only says.

She looks taken aback but still nods, holding his gaze. “You have to find a way to talk to the guy again, all right?” he says carefully, making sure she can read his lips.

“Why?” she mouths and signs.

“Whoever called you may be in danger himself. And he might be an angel.”

“What?” both Sam and Castiel say. 

“How do you know this?” Sam asks while Castiel takes over signing to Eileen.

“I’ll explain later. But if I’m right, we have to leave right away.”

“Dean, how would you—”

“Later, Sam! For now, try and help Eileen find the guy, all right? Cas, I need you to come with. If I’m right, we’ll need all the firepower we can get.”

~ • ~

It isn’t a surprise for Dean to see that the address Eileen gave them is the same as in his dream world. It’s hella fucked up, but it’s no surprise.

What’s different is that nobody’s dead when they get to the little house. The woman who answers the door is the one he’s dreamt about. Dean’s heart swells when he sees the baby in her arms.

“Micah,” he says under his breath, gladly not loud enough for her to hear.

“Who are you?” she says through the narrow opening of the door she kept chained up.

Both men present her with their FBI badges. “We’re Agents Peart and Lee. We’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind.”

The woman squints her eyes at them. “It’s kinda late, don’t you think? And what in the world could you ever wanna ask me about?”

“We’re looking for a criminal on the run and we believe he could be trying to hide in these parts. Can you let us in? You know, just so we can take a quick look around?”

“Look, I was just about to give my son his bottle and—”

“Ma’am, please. It’ll only take a minute, I promise.”

Before she can respond, the door gets slammed in their faces and they hear her screaming. Without missing a beat, Castiel blasts the door open. The scene waiting for them is different from Dean’s dream but the exact same people are involved.

“Purah!” Castiel screams. Dean wavers at the name. “Let them go!”

“Castiel!” the angel says, his glowing palm already on the woman’s forehead. “I’ll be with you in just a minute,” he says while the woman collapses, still holding her baby in her arms.

Both Dean and Castiel run toward the angel, their blades drawn out. Purah doesn’t have time to kill the child before Castiel is on him. Dean gets there just in time to catch the woman and child before they fall to the floor. The mother is dead and Dean makes sure the baby is okay before getting back up to help his friend.

He gets thrown across the room almost immediately but it seems enough to give Castiel the upper hand. Struggling to breathe again, Dean can only watch as Cas moves around and buries his blade in Purah’s torso. Just like he once did, the angel falls to the floor, his grace exploding in a blinding with light.

Again, Castiel is kneeling near the mother when Dean opens his eyes. But this time, he’s helping her sit up, her eyes no longer burnt to a crisp.

“Cas?”

“They’re okay,” Castiel says, a relaxed expression on his face. After helping the mother sit on the couch, Castiel comes to help Dean get back up. “Are you okay? Need anything healed?”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks.” He feels a little stiff all over, but it’s not something he can’t deal with. “We can’t stay here.”

“I agree, more will come. What should we do?”

“Let’s bring the mother and child to the bunker, then we’ll think of a plan.” Dean turns to the woman. “Are you okay with that… hmm…”

“Jordan,” she says in a trembling voice. “Jordan Carter.”

“My name is Dean, and this is Castiel. Are you okay with that plan? You coming home with us?”

Jordan’s owlish gaze travels between the two men, her jaw a little slack. And when he thinks that she will refuse and order them out of her home, she shrugs and gets up.

“You’re not really FBI, are you?” she asks as she looks around the room, obviously looking for something. Dean remembers his dream and bends down to pick the bottle that had rolled underneath the sofa. “Thank you,” she says, putting the nipple in her own mouth to test the milk. “Ew, that’s way too cold now, Micah. Let’s go to the kitchen and prepare a new one, all right?”

As soon as the woman has left the room, Castiel turns to Dean. “How did you know?”

“How did I know what?”

“The child’s name.”

“I didn’t.”

The hand that Castiel lands on Dean’s shoulder is tender, yet firm. “You said his name when you saw him, Dean. Jordan didn’t hear you, but I did. Not only that… you also knew where Eileen was sending us. What else do you know?”

“Nothing,” Dean says, pushing Castiel’s hand off of him. What he can’t shake off is the angel’s suspicious glare. “Let it go, Cas.”

“No! You’re keeping something from me. How about the child? Is there anything you know about him? Something odd, maybe?”

Cas is an angel so if he asks, it means that he already knows. This whole thing is starting to make Dean real uncomfortable. “Fine! He’s a nephilim! Is that what you want me to say?”

Castiel takes a step further, now standing so close that Dean can feel his skin crackle from the proximity. “What else?”

While he gets lost in Castiel’s infinite shades of blue, Jordan comes back to the main room holding the bags she had already prepared. She clears her throat, startling Dean who takes a step back while Cas keeps looking at him.

“Can I follow you with my own car?”

Dean is about to refuse, arguing that it wouldn’t be safe, but Castiel turns to her and nods. “Of course. And if you don’t mind, I’ll be riding with you. In case others try to attack you.”

She drops the bags near the door then transfers the child to Castiel’s arm. Dean has the mind not to laugh at the angel’s slightly panicked look on his face. As Jordan goes around the house to gather as much stuff as she can, she chats nervously.

“Was that the guy you’ve been looking for? Why should I go if he’s dead? And I kinda feel like I was too. Dead, I mean. Does that make any sense?” She laughs although it sounds a bit forced. “I don’t understand why anyone would wanna kill us. Does it have to do with his dad being crazy?”

Jordan keeps babbling while gathering every little thing she can from the living room. Until she notices the men giving her a questioning look. “Micah’s father told me he was an angel, of all things. We had already slept together, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone with him. You think he might have escaped from a mental institution or something?”

“I’ll go get the vibrating chair,” Dean says without a second thought, not wanting to chime in on who the father might be right now. He too finds himself on the end of similar confused looks. “What? Everyone’s got one of those,” he mumbles as he walks to the kitchen where he finds the chair. He ignores the prickling in his scalp at the sight and grabs it, along with its power cord.

Ten minutes later, Dean is leading the way in the Impala while Castiel and Jordan follow in her battered Honda – the same one he’d seen in his dream. And now that he’s alone, he can let himself start freaking out about the whole thing. His heart is beating at a thousand miles an hour and his knuckles are white from holding tightly onto the steering wheel. 

The only reasonable explanation right now is that he saw the fucking future while he was down under. Another possible reason for this shit isn’t something Dean wants to entertain. He’s not a fucking prophet and that’s all there is to it. 

His train of thoughts is interrupted by his phone ringing. He brings the device to his ear rather than putting it on speaker.

“Yeah, Sammy?”

“Just talked to Cas… what the hell, Dean?”

“Can’t talk about this now, all right?”

“But we’re gonna talk about it. We have to go over everything that’s happened while you were out, okay? Right now, I gotta go buy some stuff for Jordan and Micah. We’re putting them in Cas’s room.”

Dean shivers, vivid images of him and Cas sharing a bed flooding his mind. “Ah yeah? And where’s Cas gonna sleep, genius?”

“Cas doesn’t need sleep, you know that. Are you sure you’re okay?”

_Abort. Abort._ “Yeah, yeah, I just forgot for a second. Did you find out who called Eileen?”

“Whoever called knows his stuff, he’s been using proxies. I can’t pinpoint where the call came from. I called Charlie, I’m sure she’ll be able to find him.”

“If it’s the kid’s dad, as I think it would be, then it means he’s an angel. Not sure angels are that well versed in technology, Sam.”

“Unless his vessel was.”

They stop talking, neither of them sure what to say anymore.

“I’m hanging up now, Dean. You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, Sammy, I’m fine. Don’t worry. I’ll see you home soon.”

“Okay! Be careful,” Sam says before hanging up. 

Dean drops the phone next to him and sighs, his mind not any clearer than before. Maybe hashing it out with Sam could have helped after all. He glances in his mirror to see a car is following him, most probably Jordan’s. He’s not too worried because even if it isn’t, she’s with Cas and he’ll tell her how to get to the bunker.

~ • ~

“Nebraska?” Dean asks, unable to tear his eyes from the second-hand crib in Castiel’s room.

“I’m not even gonna ask,” is all Sam answers, flattening a hand over the wooden rail of the bed. “We still gotta go over all you’ve seen, all right?”

“Yeah, yeah… but I don’t think I’ve seen much more than what’s happened so far. When I came back, we had just brought the kid home.”

“Not Jordan?”

“The angel killed her.”

“He still killed her. Cas didn’t bring her back in your dream?”

Dean exhales, knowing he has to come clean about Cas losing his mojo. “He wasn’t an angel anymore,” he says, averting his brother’s eyes. “He was human.”

“What? You said nothing was different, Dean.” Sam doesn’t let his brother try and defend himself. “You have to tell Castiel. What if it’s another thing that’s to happen?”

“It won’t. See, Jordan didn’t die. I can’t see the future, all right?”

“She didn’t die because you guys got there before the angel. Only because you knew what was gonna happen and made sure you went the second Eileen called.”

_And because Cas is still an angel_ , Dean thinks to himself. “I’ll tell you what I saw, but only you.” Dean looks up to see his brother’s concern frown. “Castiel can’t know all that I saw. We’ll tell him most of it, but not everything.”

There’s a little part of his brain that’s trying to argue that Sam shouldn’t have to know everything either. And of course Dean will keep some stuff to himself, but his and Castiel’s relationship has to come out at some point. What if it’s relevant?

“Whatever you think is best, Dean. But I still think he should know about the possibility of him becoming human again.”

“I know, I’ll tell him.”

“Does he die? Is this why you didn’t wanna tell him?”

“What? Of course not!”

“What then?”

More than anything, Dean hates that he can feel heat blossoming on his cheeks. As he hates the prickling of tears in his eyes. Dean would prefer to just go and punch a wall until his hands are covered in blood rather than talking about that shit. Still, he takes a deep breath and turns his back to his brother to start pacing in the little room.

“Me—me and Cas—we were—we were together, Sam.” He stops walking around, keeping his back turned to his brother and buries his hands in his pocket. “Like… sharing the same bed and stuff. You know… together.”

While he’s expecting gasping or laughter, Dean is instead startled when he feels his brother’s hand gently fall on his shoulder.

“Then I’m not wrong when I say you’re not dealing with being back here too well?” Sam says, squeezing his shoulder.

“You don’t sound surprised,” Dean says instead of answering, keeping his head down.

“The only surprising thing is that you would have let yourself have it. That kinda gives me hope for the two of you.”

“Shut up, Sam! It was just a dream.”

“But while it happened, did you know that?”

Dean lets out a sad chuckle. “Nah, I didn’t. I didn’t lie about that.” He turns to meet his brother’s eyes. “It was kinda perfect, you know? We just… shit still happened out there but we’re used to that. I had found some kind of peace and you did too.”

“I did?”

“Yup… you and Eileen had a nice thing going on.” Dean smiles when he sees his brother’s own cheeks turn crimson red. “Maybe you should ask her on a date or something.”

“What about you? Planning to ask Cas on a date anytime soon?”

Before Dean can argue that powerful angels don’t date or have romantic feelings, they are interrupted by Jordan who’s coming to put Micah to bed. She puts the already sleeping child in the crib while the men go wait in the hall.

She comes out of the room holding a baby monitor, the same Dean had almost broken when he dropped it on the floor.

“You think I can get a signal anywhere in here?” she asks, showing the device to the brothers. They both nod, smiling. “Great. So, are you coming back to the library?”

“We’ll join you guys in a minute,” Sam responds, holding a finger up. He turns to Dean while she walks away, waiting until she’s far enough before talking again. “Pretty sure there’s a lot more stuff you gotta tell me, but let’s start by finding the dad first, all right?”

“Fine with me.”

“Do you have any idea who he might be?” Sam says as they start walking toward the library.

“Not a clue.”

“What makes you think he’s an angel, then?”

Dean stops his brother by grabbing his arm. “Because in my dream, we read Jordan’s diary and she was infertile.”

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of course, the things Dean would want to actually come true don’t seem to be happening. He’s just that lucky…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! Another chapter for you guys! Pretty happy it hasn’t been as long between this one and the one before, even though gishwhes happened in the meantime. I should be able to keep updating more often now. (As long as my brain keeps functioning properly that is! lol)
> 
> I really hope you’ll like where this is going. Don’t hesitate to tell me what you’re thinking or come and say hi on [Tumblr](http://marmeladyorange.tumblr.com/). 
> 
> I wish all of you a very nice day and I’ll see you soon for the next chapter! XD

As soon as they can, the brothers sit Jordan down to start asking questions. She looks a little frazzled when she confirms that she’d in fact been diagnosed as infertile before hooking up with the crazy guy. Or the angel, as it so appears.

“Only makes sense, I guess,” she says, worrying at her lower lip. “Doctors told me I’d never have children of my own, that everything was dried up in there. But when someone tells you they’re an angel, you’re tempted to doubt them, you know?”

Dean can only agree, thinking back to that night in the barn.

“There’s no chance he told you his name, did he? His real name, I mean,” Castiel asked. 

Dean had told him and Sam everything he could remember, even the name of the guy, but they still feel the need to ask. If only to make sure everything matches up. His heart sinks when she answers.

“He said his name was Steven. We didn’t exchange much more information, I’m afraid.” 

“And yet you went and had unprotected sex with the guy?”

Both Sam and Jordan glare at Dean. “What do you take me for?” Jordan says, visibly insulted. “Of course we used protection. It wouldn’t be the first time a condom broke or something.”

“Did it break?”

“I don’t know… I didn’t think so, not until I found out I was pregnant.”

A slightly flushed Sam turns to Castiel who hasn’t chimed in on the subject yet. “Cas… do you think an angel’s sperm could go through a condom? I mean, without it breaking?”

There’s the confused frown and tilted head again. “There’s no such thing as angel sperm, Sam.”

“You know what he means,” Dean says, eager to be done with that particular subject. Thinking about sperm, and sex, and Cas… it’s a little too much to handle.

“Frankly, I don’t know. Maybe. If an angel wants to impregnate a human female, I would believe that nothing can stop them. Not a condom and certainly not infertility.”

Jordan huffs at Castiel’s response. “So what was I? An experiment? Why the hell would an angel come and impregnate me, as you say?”

“I don’t know. Did you ever pray to have a baby?”

“I may have, a long time ago, before my husband left me. That’s when I needed a miracle, not now.” She glances at the baby monitor on the table before looking back at the three men. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Micah to death and I don’t regret having him. It’s just… it hasn’t been easy, you know? Having to do this on my own.” Her chin starts trembling. “And now you say those same angels want to kill him?”

“How much do you know about the bible, Jordan?”

The woman shrugs. “Haven’t been to mass in a long time.”

“You still know about Noah’s Ark, don’t you? Genesis? How the deluge was God’s way to get rid of evil on Earth, which included the nephilim. They are, after all, abominations.”

Like any mother would, Jordan doesn’t react so well to have her child be belittled. “How dare you! Micah is a gift from God, not a curse. Aren’t angels supposed to be a good and forgiving kind?” She glares at Dean when she hears him chuckle. “What?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just… we’ve been dealing with these douchebags for years now and believe me, whatever we’ve ever been told about angels is a load of crap. They’re not fluffy, they’re not fluttery, and they’re certainly not angelic. They can be pretty crappy when they put their mind to it.”

“Then what about him?” she says, pointing her chin at Castiel.

“Cas? Well… Cas is different. He’s one of the good guys.” As he says that, Dean tries not to start grinning like an idiot. Because whatever the angel has done in the past, all Dean would ever see in him is his huge heart. “He’s the only one we can trust,” he adds, choosing not to think about those times when they couldn’t.

~ • ~

When Dean wakes up in a start, the glowing numbers on his clock tell him there’s still a couple of hours to go until the sun gets up. He groans and turn around on his front, bunching up the pillow to hide his face in it. He hasn’t even slept a full three hours, he has to go back to sleep.

From outside the room, he can hear the soft padding of Jordan’s feet on the tiled floors. He also hears the gurgling sounds of Micah sucking on his bottle. His mind goes back to that other world, where he had tended to the little guy more often than not. And if he has to be honest with himself, he loved every second of it.

Although tempted to get up and maybe go play daddy for a minute or two, Dean stays in bed, hoping to fall back asleep. A whole half hour later, at least twenty minutes after Jordan and Micah have gone back to bed, Dean turns around again to lie on his back.

Fifteen minutes later, he’s stalking the halls in his old man’s robe toward the kitchen. Coffee is out of the question if he ever wants to get some shut-eye. Hot cocoa might be of some help but Dean knows that a couple of fingers of whiskey will be even more efficient.

Since the bottle he finds in the cabinet is close to empty, he foregoes the glass and starts drinking directly from it. There might be a little more than a couple of fingers, but who’s counting?

“Are you okay, Dean?” Castiel says, startling Dean enough to make the liquor go down the wrong pipe.

He coughs and wipes his mouth on his sleeve before turning around. “Make some noise, would you? You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“I can always bring you back,” Castiel deadpans, eyeing the bottle in Dean’s hand. “Isn’t it an odd hour to be drinking? Everyone else is asleep.”

“I’d like to be doing that too,” Dean says, tipping the bottle toward Cas. “I’ve been twisting and turning for an hour. I’m hoping this will help.”

Castiel nods, his eyes never leaving Dean as he empties the bottle in big gulps. It’s not enough to get him drunk but it should help settle his nerves a bit.

“How ‘bout you? What do you do when everyone sleeps?” Dean asks as he goes back to the cabinet to try and find another bottle.

“I wait for you and your brother to wake up again.”

“That’s it? No TV? No reading? No meditating? How you’re not bored is beyond me.”

“I don’t really get bored. I have many thoughts to entertain myself. And, well… I could watch some Netflix but both you and your brother bring your computers to your rooms at night.” Castiel takes off his trenchcoat and places it on the back of a chair he then sits on. “I may need to find myself my own computer, just like I have my own car.”

“When your wings are functional again, you won’t need your car, right?”

“True. But I still like it. Would you mind if I kept it in the bunker’s garage?”

Dean, whose search for more whiskey has been unfruitful, grabs a beer from the fridge before coming to sit across Castiel.

“Fine with me.”

The soft smile on Castiel’s face reminds Dean of those intimate moments they shared. Not the sexy ones, but the evenings they spent in their room, watching movies, cuddling, kissing. Dean takes a sip of beer and clears his throat.

“Don’t think I’ll be sleeping any time soon. Wanna watch a movie with me?” He hopes the lights are dim enough that Cas won’t notice the heat on his cheeks.

“If you want, I could help you sleep.”

_Don’t imagine Cas giving you a blow-job. Don’t imagine Cas giving you a blow-job._

“Thanks, I’m good. Just thought watching a movie together would be nice. I’ll go back to bed then.”

Dean’s heart quickens when Castiel gets up with him. “I didn’t say no. I just thought you’d rather sleep. I’ll gladly watch a movie with you.” And there it is again, that little smile so reminiscent of dream Cas.

“All right. Follow me.”

They make their way to the bedroom in silence. Not a word is said until they’re both sitting on Dean’s bed with the opening sequence of the latest Star Wars movie playing on the computer.

“We’ve seen this already, haven’t we?” Castiel asks although he already knows the answer.

“Yeah. Do you mind seeing it again?”

“I don’t,” is all Castiel answers, his attention on the screen again.

There’s a reason Dean chose something he’s already seen. He knows he won’t be able to keep his mind from diverting to the man sitting beside him. His hand is itching to grab Castiel’s, yet he resists. Instead, he tries to make sure he won’t sport a boner as they’re sitting together.

While Castiel is ever so still, Dean’s whole body his thrumming. It’s half delicious and half frustrating, to say the least. He’s forgotten about the movie they’re watching as he replays their beginnings, how the (fallen) angel had seduced him. Clearly, that wasn’t something the real Castiel would ever think of doing.

Dean’s hand is snaking over Castiel’s ribs before the thought even forms in his mind; tickling match. Except the angel doesn’t squirm away, instead looking at Dean in confusion.

“What are you doing?”

Flushed, Dean takes back his hand as he tries to laugh it off. “Nothing… forget about it.”

“All right,” Castiel says, turning to the screen again. “I believe you tried to tickle me,” he then says, his eyes on the movie. “Would you like me to increase my vessel’s sensitivity to make it more ticklish? Would that make you happy?”

“No… forget about it, I said,” Dean mumbles, promising himself to stop being stupid and watch the damn flick. He crosses his arms on his chest, hoping to fall asleep before it ends. Which might not be easy with Castiel trying to mimic Dean’s previous actions. 

The hunter huffs and pushes the angel’s hand away. “I’m not ticklish either,” he says, unnerved. “Are you gonna forget about that shit or do I have to kick you out of my room? Watch the damn movie, all right?”

“Angels remember everything, Dean,” Castiel says, which grants him with an assassin stare. “I won’t bring it up again, Dean,” he promises.

~ • ~

When Dean wakes up again – at a more reasonable hour – he’s alone in bed. The computer has been shut close and placed on the side table. Although he knows Cas and him were never really together, he can’t help but feel abandoned and sighs, swallowing his heartache.

“Stop being an imbecile, Winchester,” he mumbles before throwing the covers away from his body. His boxers are tented, mocking him and all the stupid ideas in his brain. If he didn’t know it’d hurt like hell, he’d punch himself in the dick just on principle.

A whole hour later, he’s walking into the kitchen, his hair still wet from the shower. Everyone, Cas included, is sitting at the table having breakfast. Well, Castiel isn’t eating per se, instead holding Micah and feeding him a bottle.

“Good morning,” Dean says as he goes to grab a cup of coffee. He too sits at the table where nothing short of a feast has been laid out. “What’s all this?”

“Jordan wanted to thank us,” Sam says before cramming a huge piece of french toast in his mouth.

“I love to cook and, really, it’s the least I could do,” she says with a beaming smile. “Since having my son, I didn’t have time to cook much.” She turns to Castiel and puts a soft hand on his shoulder. “If it hadn’t been for Cas taking care of Micah this morning, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

The smile that Castiel gives Jordan is bright and sincere, and Dean kind of hates it. The two of them seem to be liking each other a whole lot. He only realizes he’s been glaring at them when Sam kicks his foot and sends him all sorts of silent questions. He has to remind himself that Cas isn’t his… never was, and never will be.

“Is everything okay, you two?” Jordan asks when she notices the brothers’s silent joust. “You don’t like the food? Gotta say, you didn’t have much in your fridge, I had to—”

“Don’t worry, Jordan, it’s really good,” Sam says, kicking his brother under the table once more.

“Yeah… real good,” Dean too says before remembering he hasn’t had any yet. He clears his throat and transfers a couple of piece of French toast before dousing them in syrup. The moan he lets out around his first bite is almost entirely sincere.

Apparently the girl is good natured because she doesn’t call him on his odd behaviour and instead laughs as she gets up to take Micah from Castiel’s arms. “Burping time,” she coos, putting the baby over her shoulder as she rubs his back. “Then we’ll change your diaper and it’s nap time. What do you say, baby?”

The woman keeps talking as she walks out with her son. Soon, they can’t hear her which means she probably can’t hear them either.

“What the hell, Dean? What’s your problem with Jordan?”

Taken aback by his brother’s sudden outburst, Dean almost chokes on his breakfast. “What?”

“You were looking at her as if you wanted to kill her. What did she ever do to you?”

“What? Nothing… I wasn’t looking at her like you say.” He knows he had been. “I just got up, I don’t know.”

“Dean didn’t get much sleep last night,” Castiel provided, making both brothers turn to him. “It was close to five in the morning when I left the room after he fell asleep.”

“Oh, you did, did you?” Sam says, looking back at Dean with a knowing smile.

“We watched a movie ‘cause I couldn’t sleep,” Dean said between gritted teeth, opting not to look back at his brother. He can still feel Sam’s stupid empathy oozing from his every pore. Never has Dean been happier to hear a phone ring.

“I gotta take this,” Sam announces, getting up to leave the room.

Being left alone with the angel only reminds Dean how he promised Sam that he’d give out some details about his dream. Not hungry anymore, he pushes the half-empty plate to the side and crosses his hands on the table.

“So… Cas, I kinda gotta tell you about what happened in my djinn dream.”

“I would very much like that. I don’t think it was an ordinary dream, not if witches and djinns were involved.”

“True… so, you already know how I seem to know things. Like, things that haven’t happened yet. Well, now they have happened but… you know what I mean.”

“I do.”

Dean takes a deep breath before talking again. “So, in that alternate world thing, you weren’t an angel anymore. Sam thought I should tell you. I really don’t think it’s something that’s gonna happen, you know? That’s why I didn’t say anything.”

Castiel nods, looking pensive. “I see. What was I? Human?”

“For lack of a better word, yeah, I guess.”

“Do you know how it happened?”

It’s Dean’s turn to nod, looking just as serious as Cas. “Yeah… you said the angels cut you off from the Host. Your grace just… dissipated.”

“That is an unlikely thing to happen.” Castiel is frowning when he speaks again. “Is this something you would want to see happen?”

“What?”

“Me being human again. Being graceless.”

Dean’s heart is beating so hard, he’s scared Cas can hear it. He does have sensitive hearing after all. “No, of course not. Why would you ask that?”

“Whatever elixir you were given had djinn blood, Dean. You know what djinns do, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but… there’s not just one type of djinn, you know that. Doesn’t mean it was the kind that make you live your dream life. It could be the one that taps into your greatest fear. There could even be other kinds we don’t know about out there.”

Castiel nods, apparently satisfied with Dean’s response. “There are. I’ve found evidence in the Men of Letters library that some actually would be able to send their victims into the past, or the future. In their own minds, of course, but what is experienced would still be accurate. Others feed off of their victim’s sexual energy, letting them get lost into their deepest carnal desires.”

Dean can feel himself flush at the thought, hating the fact that he’d like to get his hands on some of that last one. “Yeah, that must have been that other one, the future thing.”

“Then that would mean that I will indeed become human again.”

“Come on, Cas. You and I both know that nothing’s ever written in stone. Plus, the djinn blood had to be diluted or something. Not everything I saw is bound to happen.”

Before Castiel can answer, Sam rushes back into the kitchen to go stand in front of Dean. “Okay, so get this. I’ve been talking to Rowena and—”

“Rowena? What the hell, Sammy?”

“Listen for a second. I called her to ask if she knew of a spell using djinn blood and she didn’t know. I asked her to check and she agreed,” Sam says in an urgent tone, trying not to think about what he had agreed to for this to happen. “She just called back and says she’s found something.” He turns to Cas, then Dean. “Did you tell him?”

Pissed about the Rowena thing, Dean just nods sharply, waving at him to say what he has to say.

“So, what she found makes total sense ‘cause it has to do with sending messages from the future or something. It’s not super clear though. From what I understand, the potion they gave you would have been to make you see something specific. It all depends on the other ingredients that were used, and who’s sending the message. Like, if you wanna know your own future, you’d put some of your own blood in the mixture.”

“Can I speak now?” Dean asks Sam, who nods. “Okay… we’ll be talking about that Rowena thing later, but first, why the hell would someone go through all this trouble to show me the future. And not all of it, just some part of it. A phone call would have been just as effective.”

“I don’t know, Dean. Rowena thinks the witch who did this to you was working for someone else. Someone who wanted you to know about Jordan and Micah so you could save them.”

“Again… phone call!” Dean turns to Castiel. “You ever heard about something this stupid? Hiring some evil witch to send some guy a message from the future?”

“Of the future,” Castiel corrects, making Dean squint at him.

“What?”

“I don’t believe you’ve seen images from the future, but about the future.”

“What’s the difference? Still didn’t happen yet. Okay, some of it did, but you know what I mean.”

For once, Sam seems to be understanding as little as Dean is. “But… for someone to wanna tell anyone about the future, then they must have seen it. Right? If that’s the case, then it’s also from the future?”

Dean nods, glad to have someone else to explain what he may have been thinking.

“To some extent, I guess that you’re right,” Castiel reluctantly agrees. “And yet, not really. It’s a really difficult concept to grasp, I imagine. For a human mind, anyway.”

Deciding not to dwell on the angel pretty much calling him and his brother stupid, Dean brushes it off. “Okay… so could that mean that whoever decided to send me a message is an angel?”

“Most probably.”

Dean squints at Castiel again, suspicious. “Could it be you?”

“If future me did do that, I wouldn’t know about it, would I? But I don’t think I’d do this. I’d rather call you than have you kidnapped by a witch.”

“If whatever you’re saying is remotely possible, then it must be Steven who did that to you.”

The three men are startled by Jordan’s sudden arrival. She doesn’t wait for their answer and joins them at the table.

“How long have you been listening?” Dean asks.

“Long enough.” She sighs, shaking her head. “Look, part of me is super freaked out about everything you’ve been saying… you know, witches, angels, and whatever else you keep babbling about. But then… Micah truly is a miracle baby. There’s no way I could have had him if God Himself hadn’t intervened.”

“God had nothing to do with this,” Dean blurts, only to be kicked under the table again. This time, he can swear it’s Cas who’s done it.

“God, angels, whatever. All I care about is for my son to be safe. And if Steven, or whatever his name is made sure to make me pregnant, then I imagine he too wants him safe. So he made sure you’d know to help us.”

“She’s not wrong,” Sam says. Then he turns to Castiel. “Remember that summoning spell you wanted to do to find Gadreel?”

“Sam, sucking out the remnants of Gadreel’s grace almost killed you. We can’t risk Micah’s life to try and find the tiny bits of grace he may have left from his father.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Jordan and Dean say at once.

Sam at least has the decency to turn crimson red. “No! Of course not, I’d never wanna hurt Micah. I’m just saying… I don’t know what I’m saying…”

“Jordan,” Castiel says softly, taking the woman’s hands in his. “Do you believe me when I say that I would never want to hurt your son in any way?”

She nods although the question seems to be putting her on edge.

“There is a way for me to try and find who the father is. Once we know this, we should be able to summon him. But I’m afraid it might still hurt Micah a little.”

Jordan swiftly takes her hands back. “Out of the question!”

“I understand, but I promise that as soon as I have what I need, I will soothe his pain. I’ll even make him forget about it ever happening.”

“But I’ll remember. I can’t imagine staying there doing nothing while he’s screaming his head off in pain.”

“I can make you forget too.” Castiel takes back Jordan’s hands. “Or even not let you see it happen at all,” he says, rubbing the back of her hands with his thumbs. “Catch her, Sam,” he says right before Jordan falls asleep, her head falling right into Sam’s awaiting hands.

“Why the hell did you do that?” Dean exclaims while Sam makes sure Jordan’s head rests comfortably over her own folded arms. “I’m not letting you touch Micah, Cas. He’s just a baby!”

“It’ll only hurt for a second, Dean. You know it’s the only way,” Castiel says as he gets up. “Once it’s done, I’ll heal him and make him forget.”

Sam looks like he wants to argue but doesn’t. He knows Cas is right, and it has nothing to do with him being soulless this time.

“Dean, Cas is right. You know he wouldn’t do this unless he had to.”

Seeing as Castiel has already left the kitchen, Dean kind of groans and gets up to follow him. “Then I wanna be there when he does it,” he announces, leaving his brother behind to catch up with the angel.

When he gets to the room, Castiel already has Micah in his arms.

“Give him to me,” Dean says, coming to stand in front of him.

“Dean—”

“I just wanna be the one holding him. Please. I’ll let you do whatever you gotta do but… I gotta be holding him, all right?”

Solemn, Castiel nods and delicately transfers the sleeping child into Dean’s cradled arms. Only then does Dean realize he hasn’t really held the kid since they came back with him and his mother. He kinda hates that his heart swells up at the feeling of having Micah back in his arms. He swallows the lump in his throat as Castiel lays a hand over the baby’s chest.

“I’ll be quick,” he promises, locking his eyes onto Dean’s who nods gravelly.

As a bright light erupts from Castiel’s hand, Dean has to close his eyes and Micah starts making sounds Dean has never heard him do. He’s screaming, crying, and trying to breathe all at once. And although Dean knows it only lasts a couple of seconds, it feels like hours to him.

When the glowing light dims and the baby turns quiet again, Dean is surprised to feel the air cool on his damp cheeks. He looks down to find Micah as calm as before, Castiel’s hand now softly resting on the baby’s forehead.

“It’s done,” the angel says, looking up at Dean again. “You cried?” he asks, taking his hand of the baby to wipe one of the hunter’s cheeks. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah… don’t worry about me,” Dean grouses, taking a couple of steps back so Cas would stop touching him. He turns to put Micah back in his bed before wiping the tears from his face. “So, you got a name?”

“I did…”

Unnerved by Castiel’s calmness, Dean huffs and crosses his arms. “Get on with it then… spill it!”

“It’s Gabriel, Dean. The nephal’s father is an archangel.”

 

_~ To be continued… ~_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While researching the whole nephilim thing, I stumbled upon interesting information. First off, NEPHILIM is the plural form of the word. So, no S at the end like I’ve done so far in this piece (I’ll go change them, unless it’s “humans” who talk… they probably don’t know). Which brought the question as to how to write about them in singular form… Apparently, it’s NEPHAL. Which wasn’t used (I think) in Genesis, which explains why people would not normally know.
> 
> This being said, I believe Cas would know and that he would use the right terminology. (Which means I gotta go back and see if I need to correct anything. Or maybe not if it takes place in Dean’s dream world… he probably doesn’t know)
> 
> Anyway, I thought that it was necessary to explain the “new word”… I love new words… language is fun!!! (not even being sarcastic right now, I really believe this) lol


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth is there, right about to pass his lips… and Dean is doing his best to swallow it down!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Here’s the new chapter… it’s going better than I thought it would (see, I say that and then shit’s gonna hit the fan and it’s gonna take forever to update again… NOT THAT I WANT THIS TO HAPPEN)
> 
> But no, let us be positive, shall we?
> 
> First off, you might wanna take a look at the tags before reading, only because I’ve added some more. Some of them may no not do it for you so, please be warned and make sure this is okay for you to read! <3
> 
> I don’t know about you, but I’m SUPER excited for tomorrow’s DCBB posting of the summaries… my insides are just jumping around (which feels kinda weird, to be honest). I’m just super excited about the story I wrote and I can’t wait to share it with you all.
> 
> Anyway… right now, let’s focus on THIS story. I hope you’ll enjoy this new chapter and I’ll be doing my best to have another one for you soon!
> 
> xx
> 
> .

“Gabriel? The one from the bible?”

While Castiel nods at Jordan, Dean is pacing to try and calm down.

“That son of a bitch! Can’t believe he was alive all this time, makin’ babies of all things. The world almost ended, again, and he didn’t even try to help! I swear to God, if I ever see him again—”

“He’s an archangel, Dean. You can’t do much against him,” Sam says, a little too calm for his brother’s taste.

“All the other ones are dead… his turn is right around the corner, I promise you.”

Dean’s mood doesn’t get any brighter when Castiel chooses to intervene in favor of Gabriel.

“I imagine that would be reason enough to keep himself hidden, Dean. If the others are all dead.”

“I don’t think Michael’s dead,” Sam chimes in. “Chuck pretty much said he’s still in the cage. And as far as we know, Lucifer’s out there somewhere too. I don’t think Amara killed him, we never saw traces of his burnt wings.”

Neither Dean nor Castiel respond to Sam, mostly because they can’t confirm or refute anything he’s saying. They all stay silent for a while, the only noises coming from Jordan playing with Micah. Even Sam has stopped typing on his computer and seems to be waiting for something. Dean looks up to see him discreetly tilt his head toward the hall: He wants to go have a talk.

After Dean gives him a minuscule nod, Sam takes his phone and walks out. Discretion is key so Dean waits, flipping the pages of the closest book without even bothering to look like he’s intended on reading it. After a couple of minutes, he too gets up.

“Man, gotta pee real bad,” he announces before following after his brother. He kind of winces when he catches Jordan’s suspicious gaze on him. “Too much coffee,” he adds as he almost runs out of the room.

For a second, he’s not sure where he should be going. It’s not like Sam had made some secret hand gesture to tell him where to meet. The thought makes him chuckle, remembering that they are both getting better at sign language; they could have used that.

There are two places Sam could have gone; his room or the garage. Since he’s closer to the bedrooms, he goes there first. Turns out it was the right choice.

“Gotta find a way to—Cas? How did you—”

“I prayed to him, letting him know we had to have a chat.”

It’s not enough of an explanation for Dean who squints at the angel. “How did you get here before me? You were still sitting in the library when I left.”

“My wings are doing much better so I try to get used to using them again.”

The news, although excellent, make Dean’s mouth dry up. He’s gonna start disappearing all the time again, just like he used to do. He mentally shakes his fears away.

“That’s good. You’re a real angel again.”

“I am,” Castiel only answers with a soft smile. “I can’t fly for long periods of time, my wings are still fragile. But I do like to exercise them here and there.”

“Guys, not that I’m not glad about Cas’s progress, but I asked you here for a reason.” Sam turns his phone around to show the other two. “Caught that while researching earlier. They’re both dead.”

Dean grabs the phone to read the news snippet, trying to ignore the angel’s closeness when he leans in to do the same. “Murfreesboro?”

“Close to Nashville, Tennessee.” Sam takes back his phone, then fiddles with it a bit before giving it back. “And another one near Dallas. It can’t be a coincidence, Dean.”

“You wanna go and investigate this?” Dean asks his brother, letting Cas have the phone just so he can put some distance between them. “You think these kids too were nephilims?”

“Nephilim,” Castiel provides without looking up from the device. “Nephilim is already the plural form. As I explained earlier, nephal is—”

“Seriously, Cas? You really think now’s the time for a grammar lesson?” Dean spits back, rolling his eyes. “When do we leave?” he asks Sam who’s taken his phone back.

“I think I’ll stay here and let you go with Cas,” he says. “Don’t think we should leave Jordan and Micah alone, and Cas is the only one who can say for sure if the kids were nephilim.”

Dean points to his own inner thigh. “They have marks here, we don’t need Cas to know if they were.”

“In both cases, the mother and child died in house a fire, Dean. If the birthmark has been burnt out…” Sam swallows his disgust before speaking again. “Cas will know, doesn’t matter that the mark is there or not. And if they are nephilim, he can find out who the father is.” Seeing his brother tense up, Sam sighs and nods. “All right. Stay here with Jordan and I’ll go with Cas.”

“No!” Dean clears his throat and crosses his arms. “I mean, it’s all right, I’ll go, no big deal. You okay with that?” he then asks the angel who’s looking at him intently.

“Of course, Dean.” He turns to Sam. “Although I’m not sure I can find out who the fathers are if the children are dead.”

“Doesn’t matter, we still gotta try. As for Gabriel, do you think we could try and summon him before you guys leave. Can you do that?”

Castiel nods although he’s frowning. “Summoning an archangel is not as easy as summoning an angel, or even a demon. You know that, right? They’re subjected to their own rules. They can, and they will, ignore a summoning if they feel like it.”

As Castiel speaks, Dean is reminded how Raphael hadn’t appeared immediately when they called, instead trying to catch them off guard by taking his sweet ol’ time. So they’ll have to make sure to secure the bunker for whatever Gabriel might try to pull.

“We can’t call him and then just leave you guys alone, Sam.”

“So what? We call him and nobody ever leaves here because he might show up whenever he feels like it?”

“Or we wait until me and Cas are back from checking this thing out. I don’t think a week’s going to make that much of a difference.”

Sam quirks an eyebrow, having trouble hiding a smirk. “So you’re gonna be gone a week? Like what, a little vacation time?”

“Shut up, bitch! You know what I mean.”

The three men are startled by Jordan’s voice.

“You know, you guys could just have asked me to leave the library instead of trying to hide from me.” She’s standing in the hall and looking at them. “Or, I don’t know… maybe at least close the door next time you wanna share secrets?”

She chuckles as she walks away, Micah sleeping in her arms. She’s soon coming back to lean on the door frame with her arms crossed. “So… wanna tell me what’s going on? Does it have anything to do with Micah? Or his dad?”

“We don’t know, Jordan,” Sam says in a gentle voice. “That’s why Dean and Cas are gonna go investigate it. It could be nothing, just a coincidence maybe.”

“And you’re staying here?” she asks him in a small voice, her eyes now wide and innocent. “I mean… I can’t imagine us staying alone in here. This place is creepy as hell.”

“And yet, it’s the most secure place you’ll ever find,” Dean chimes in, trying to reassure her. “But yeah, Sam’s gonna be staying with you.” The relief on Jordan’s face is evident. As is her infatuation with Sam if the stars in her eyes are anything to go by.

Dean promises himself he’ll text Sam about that, in case he doesn’t already know. That poor woman is signing up for quite the heartache if she’s crushing on his little brother.

~ • ~

They should have stopped at the motel they passed thirty miles ago. There’s no way Dean will be able to drive all the way to Cleburne without stopping for at least a couple of hours. The area is especially dark so Dean keeps his eyes on the road as he speaks. 

“Do you think Gabriel has been going around making babies all over the country?”

“It’s not impossible,” Cas says, him too looking ahead. “Although I don’t see why he would do such a thing.”

“If you ask me, there’s no logical explanation would there be one or a hundred kids. Especially not when it comes to that guy.”

“Indeed. But, it could also not be Gabriel, if we’re dealing with nephilim again that is. You know as well as I do that after the angels fell, a lot of them came to inhabit humans who already had significant others and families. Not all were warriors, some took over their vessel’s life in its entirety. It wouldn’t be too far fetched to believe children would have resulted from some of these unions.”

“Even if God forbids it?”

He may not be looking at him, Dean still feels Castiel turning his way.

“You know as much as I do that only a couple of months ago, not many angels believed God would ever come back. Most of them believed He was out of the equation.”

“Like you did?”

Dean risks a glance to find Castiel not looking at him anymore. “I never stopped believing, Dean. Not really. My belief was solely that He had stopped caring… and I was mad, like the majority of my brethren. And what do children do when they’re mad at their parents?” he asks, turning to Dean again.

This time, Dean makes sure to catch the angel’s eyes with his. “They act up?”

“They act up.” A small smile is tugging at Castiel’s lips when he turns away again. “Sadly, smoking or car racing in the streets aren’t things that would get a rise out of Him. But nephilim—”

“So what? We gonna have to build an ark and gather animals again? Better start that shit now…”

Instead of answering, Castiel lands a soft hand the one Dean is keeping on the shift stick, making the hunter’s heart skip a beat. “You seem tired, Dean. Would you like us to stop at a motel so you can sleep?”

Dean hesitates for a second, distracted by the hand over his. He fights the urge to turn his hand around to lace his fingers with the angel’s. “Well… would you mind driving for a bit instead? No reason to stop if you don’t have to sleep. I’ll just take a quick nap and then I’ll be fine.”

“Whatever you think is best, Dean.”

Dean swerves into the first secure spot and stops the car. They’re in the middle of nowhere, somewhere between Hinton and Lookeba, Oklahoma. Dean climbs into the back seat and can’t help but smile when he sees Castiel’s own pleased expression. He remembers in the djinn world how Cas had been excited to drive Baby the first time.

“You better be careful with her,” he still warns as he tries to find a comfortable position. He takes off his coat and bunches it up to use as a makeshift pillow. “I don’t care that you’re a powerful angel, I’m kicking your ass if you get as much as a single scratch on her.”

“I won’t harm her,” Castiel promises before swerving the car back onto the road.

Now that he’s lying down, Dean doesn’t feel as tired anymore. His senses are in alert and he tenses at every bump and noise. Still, he keeps his eyes closed because he knows he can’t drive again until he gets some shut-eye. “Careful,” he growls when a bump on the road makes the car jump.

“Sorry.”

~ • ~

Dean is surprised to find the car idle and the sun almost up when he opens his eyes again. He wipes his face with both hands as he sits up, every joint popping as he does.

“I thought you’d like some breakfast,” he hears Castiel say from the front seat. “I just wasn’t sure if you’d like to go in or eat in the car.”

Squinting at the morning light, Dean looks outside to find they’re in a Biggerson’s parking lot. “Inside,” he only says, his voice too hoarse to say anything more. 

He goes into the trunk to grab his toothbrush kit before following Castiel in the restaurant. He makes a beeline for the bathroom while Castiel goes and requests a table for two. When Dean comes out and finds the angel, there’s a glass of water, orange juice, and a coffee on the table.

“Who’s that for? You?” he asks, pointing at the orange juice before downing the whole glass of water.

“I don’t drink. I know you prefer coffee, but I also know you don’t consume enough fruits and vegetables.”

At the angel’s explanation, Dean purses his lips. He pushes the juice aside to grab the coffee. “You should stop hanging out with Sam, he’s messin’ with your brain.”

“I don’t need Sam to tell me about the virtues of a good diet, Dean” he says in a huff. “I was human once.”

And because he’s not in the mood to start bickering, Dean decides he just better play along. He puts back the coffee and takes the juice, drinking about half of it and wincing at the taste mixing with the toothpaste’s. “That’s all you’re getting,” he says, pushing the glass aside again. He ignores the pleased smirk the angel is sporting and grabs the coffee.

“So… where are we?”

“Just outside Weatherford, Texas… about an hour from Cleburne.”

“Good,” Dean says, looking over the breakfast menu. “Did you also order my food?” he asks, half teasing. Because there’s a pinch of worry in his question. If Castiel did order his breakfast, Dean might be getting some kind of fruity granola crap.

“I wouldn’t dare,” Castiel assures him, smiling. “The waitress should be back soon to take your order.”

As if she’d been summoned, a blond woman with a gap in her smile walks up to them. “Are you boys ready to order?”

“I’ll have your eggs and ham plate… with some bacon too.”

When Castiel confirms that he wants nothing, the woman leaves to punch their order in, then comes back to refill both the water and coffee. Dean is glad to find the woman is not a chatty one and he just waits for her to leave again before talking business.

“If we wanna have access to the corpses, you’re gonna have to be the Scully to my Mulder. Usually it’s Sam who handles the medical stuff. You okay with that?”

“So I’ll be an FBI doctor? I think I can manage. I do know all there is to know about the human body.”

Dean can’t help but smile that Cas got the reference. He kind of misses his cluelessness at times, but the angel getting his jokes is just a little bit cuter. And of course, putting cute and angel in the same thought is making unwanted souvenirs bubble up to the surface. False souvenirs.

“Are you all right, Dean? You look distraught. Something on your mind?”

Trying to hide behind his coffee cup, Dean shrugs and nods, then shakes his head. Two questions, two answers.

“I don’t mind driving the rest of the way if you’d like to sleep some more.”

“I’ll be fine, Cas.” He raises his cup, forcing a smile onto his face. “A couple more of these plus a good breakfast and I’ll be my old charming self again.”

Castiel doesn’t insist and leaves him be, grabbing an abandoned newspaper from the table next to theirs. He reads it from cover to cover while Dean eats and tries to forget how it resembles their typical dream mornings. Except Cas would eat. Often right from Dean’s plate who wouldn’t even think to mind.

“You ready? he soon says, dropping a twenty dollar bill on the table. It’s too much and Dean knows it, but he can’t stay any longer in that fake little bubble his stupid brain is dwelling on.

He walks out and back to the car, not waiting for Cas. And although he should have expected it, he’s still startled to find the angel already sitting in the passenger seat.

“Walking’s too hard for you now?” 

He knows Cas just wants to practice some, yet he can’t help feeling the need to give him shit for it. “Maybe you shouldn’t be doing this crap when there’s people around. Someone’s bound to see you and start asking questions.”

“I’m not an idiot, Dean. I don’t do this when people can see me.”

“So what? The whole restaurant just happened to look away at the same time?”

Instead of answering, Castiel huffs and turns to glare at him then turns back to look outside the window. “You think your mood will improve before we get to the morgue?” he asks, an unmistakable bite to his tone.

It should be enough for Dean to take it down a notch, but he’s pissed, and heartbroken… and fuck, he’s horny! It can’t be a surprise to see the angel disappear before his eyes when he tells him to fuck off. Yet, it is. But Dean’s not done with him.

“Castiel, you son of a bitch, I pray to you… to tell you that you’re a fucking drama queen and you better bring back your feathery ass down here right now or else—”

“Or else what, Dean?”

That the angel would come back so soon is not expected. And seeing him holding a huge coffee to go isn’t either.

“What—”

“I would imagine that you hadn’t had enough caffeine,” he says, handing the cardboard cup to Dean. 

“Oh…” For the first time that morning, Dean is speechless, which is probably best. He kinda feels like an asshole now but he’d rather not think about it. “Thanks,” he says, a little sheepish. He even smiles at the white and green cup with ‘Kastile’ written in black marker. “So… _Starbucks_ , huh?”

“Biggerson’s coffee obviously didn’t help. Went there instead and asked for the biggest and strongest coffee they could give me.”

Holding onto the wheel, Dean brings the cup to his lips. Before he can even take a tentative sip, he gets a noseful of the strong smell. He’s right about to cough but resists, feeling Castiel’s watchful stare on him. It’s not enough that the coffee smells strong as hell, it’s boiling hot too.

“Shit!” he says in a hiss, almost dropping the cup when the liquid burns his lips and tongue. He’s gonna have a lisp for the rest of the day, he just knows it.

Castiel grabs the coffee back and cups both his hands around it. “I’m sorry, Dean. Didn’t realize it’d be this hot.” When he hands him back the cup, it doesn’t feel as hot.

“Did you just mojo the coffee colder?” 

And yeah, there’s that damn lisp. When Castiel brushes his thumb over Dean’s mouth, the coffee almost gets dropped again. And the car swerves a little to the left. And Dean’s heart won’t stop racing.

“What did you do that for?” he asks in a stammer, only to notice the lisp is gone.

~ • ~

Dean closes the door on Cas and himself and drops his bag on the bed closest to the door. He knows Cas doesn’t need to sleep but he might still like to be comfortable while he waits for Dean to wake up again. And also, getting a room with a single bed would have been too much of a reminder of those hunts he never really went on. When they’d go the three of them together and Sam would get his own room while Dean and Cas would share one.

He drops his dinner’s greasy paper bag on the small table then puts the beers in the mini-fridge, taking one for himself before sitting at the table. He grabs his phone to call Sam, putting the device on speaker as he picks at the already tepid fries.

“Hey, Dean. What did you find out?”

“We were right… the kid’s a nephili—a nephal,” he corrects himself, glancing at Cas who’s not even looking at him. “But Cas says the kid wasn’t Gabriel’s.”

“Whose was it, then?”

“Adriel,” Castiel answers from the bed because Dean has just taken a huge bite of his hamburger. “I’ve consulted the Host and had confirmation that Adriel died some time ago.”

“Are you guys going to Tennessee next?”

“We kinda have to. It’s not like Cas can zip in and out of there in a second.”

“Maybe I could—” the angel starts, only to be interrupted by both brothers at once.

“No!”

“We’re not gonna temper with your healing, Cas… we’ll just make the drive. All’s good on your end, Sam? All’s okay with Jordan?”

“We had a chat, told her I kinda was seeing someone. We’re cool.” There’s a pause, as if Sam is waiting for his brother to comment. When Dean doesn’t, Sam just sighs. “Okay… just be careful out there, all right?”

“We will…” 

Sam hangs up while Dean tries to do the same with his elbow. He hears Castiel huff and get off the bed to come help him. He drops back the phone and sits at the table.

“Do you really think it’s necessary for us to drive all the way to Tennessee? It’s not like we can do anything to help the mother and child.”

“No, we can’t. But if we can get another angel to tell us what’s going on, I’d rather it’d be them. I don’t trust Gabriel at all.”

“You don’t generally trust angels, period.”

Dean nods as he chews on his last bit of burger. He was so hungry, it’s almost like he inhaled it. He’s amused to see Castiel grab a couple of fries from the paper bag. And he laughs when the angel makes a disgusted face and turns to spit the food in the waste basket.

“You forgot you didn’t eat?”

“No… I was just curious. I liked burgers and fries so much before. I liked to eat, basically. That’s the one thing I would have loved to keep from humanity. This and the sexual drive.”

This time, Dean honest to god chokes on his sip of beer, spraying his mouthful all over the table… and some of it on Cas too. As he tries to breathe right again, Dean ignores the angel’s furrowed brow and how his clothes already have no traces of beer on them.

“Why do you find that so shocking? Of all people, you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that I found sex to be enjoyable.”

Dean’s insides are cramping up, making him feel like he’s going to explode… or implode, whatever hurts most. If Cas doesn’t shut up—

“How was I, Dean? When you had that djinn dream… you said I was human. Was I doing a better job at it?”

All Dean can do is grit his teeth and nod, making the angel smile.

“Being human could have been quite enjoyable, in different circumstances that is.” He looks at Dean and notices he doesn’t seem to be doing so well. Yet, he seems to be mistaken about what’s making the hunter appear emotional. “I’m sorry, Dean. I don’t mean it like that, I just mean… it had to happen the way it did. I’m an angel again, so please stop worrying about it, okay?”

Again, Dean can only nod, averting his friend’s eyes. He’s afraid that if he looks at him, everything that’s happened between them is gonna spill out like a bag of marbles. Because they’re alone, in a room, with beds… and Dean can’t help but wonder if it would feel remotely as good as it did in his dream. Because, frankly, how would he know how it feels to get a dick up his ass?

Castiel’s delicious dick…

Dean’s mouth waters as he can feel his blood divert south. He glances at the bathroom door which oddly looks a thousand miles away. He discreetly presses the heel of his hand on his crotch, trying to stifle the moan it elicits.

“Are you all right, Dean?”

Dean bites his lower lip and closes his eyes, his nodding a little too energetic. He tries to think about stuff that’s anything but sexy yet all that comes up has to do with the dream world and all that’s happened between him and Cas. It’s so vivid that it soon feels like Castiel’s hand are caressing his skin and that his expert mouth is wrapped around his cock.

He knows he should leave the room but he also knows his legs won’t support him if he tries. So he stays where he sits, blood pumping in his ears as he’s pretty close to orgasm from something that’s not even real.

The feeling of hands on him is so realistic that he has to open his eyes, if only to make sure that nobody’s touching him. All he sees is Castiel, still sitting on his chair and looking at him with evident concern. And although they’re not even close to touching, the sight of him is enough to make Dean send his head back and groan as he comes in his pants, untouched.

“Dean?”

The angel’s soft voice and his hands on his knees are enough to make Dean let out a pained whine as more wetness dirty his pants. Only then is he able to push Cas away from him and run to the bathroom.

“Dean?” Castiel says again, louder. “Tell me what’s going on. I wanna help.”

“You can’t!” Dean yells through the door as he drops his sullied pants and underwear. “Just… go practice your flying or something. Leave me alone!”

But Castiel doesn’t leave. He hesitates for a minute then decides there’s no way he can leave Dean alone, especially if he’s ill. So he sits back on his bed and waits. When Dean finally comes out, he’s freshly showered and wearing a towel around his waist.

“Forgot my clothes,” he mumbles, looking at anything but Castiel. He goes through his duffel to fish out a pair of underwear and a ratty t-shirt. He’s going back where he came from when someone knocks on the room’s door.

“Don’t let anyone in, we don’t need towels and shit,” Dean says as he disappears in the bathroom again. Nothing seems to be happening until he can hear Cas talking to someone. “Son of a bitch,” Dean spits as he pulls the shirt over his head and walks back into the room.

At the door stands a petite black woman that can’t be much older than twenty years old.

“Cas, I told you, we don’t need towels,” he repeats, giving the woman a pointed look.

“Well, hello there, Dean-O,” the girl says as she walks into the room. “Tell me… how did you like my little gift?” she asks as she sits at the table, pushing the unfinished food away. “Bet it was real good, wasn’t it?”

That smirk… Dean knows that smirk. He also knows he’s never seen this girl before. Still, his instincts dictate him to punch the hell out of her pretty face.

“Dean,” he hears Castiel say as he manages to push the impulse down. “That’s Gabriel. He needs our help.”

That’s all it takes for the impulse to come back, only ten times stronger.

 

_~ To be continued… ~_

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> However hard Gabriel may have fallen, he certainly didn’t lose his bag of tricks!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: More new tags for you to check out, my lovelies… only a couple but one or two in there might not do it for you.
> 
> This being said, I’m super happy to be posting this next chapter already. The next one is also well under way so I seem to have found some kind of nice rhythm. Let’s just hope that it’ll keep up until the story’s all done.
> 
> I wish I could tell you how many chapters are left, but I honestly don’t know… turns out I’ve been merging stuff together and what was planned for chapter 9 or 10 made its way into chapter 7… so… it is safe to say that I am at the mercy of this story. Once again… 
> 
> So… I think that with this chapter here, the story truly deserves its Explicit rating. I KNOW you’ve been waiting for that, you marvelous readers. (Not saying it’s good… just that it’s there… lol)
> 
> I hope you’ll enjoy reading this chapter… the next one should be up within the next week (unless I get super impatient and can’t wait and… oops… I published again!!!)
> 
> Have a magnificent day, and see you soon! xx
> 
>  
> 
> .

“Gabriel, stop laughing!” Castiel says as he holds Dean’s broken hand to heal it.

“Come on, it’s funny and you know it. You’d think Dean-O over here would have known by now that you can’t just go and punch angels, let alone archangels.”

“To be fair, the mark of Cain gave him incredible strength.” Castiel glares at Gabriel. “For the first time, I kinda wish he still had it. I would have loved to see you hurt, if only a little.”

“Bro, your words hurt me far more than your boyfriend’s fists ever could.”

If the smile on the archangel’s new face is anything to go by, he – or she, as it so happens – is far from hurting. She throws her head back laughing when Dean chooses to comment on the boyfriend thing.

“Not boyfriends,” he mumbles, scowling at Gabriel.

“Whatever you say, bucko” she replies, waggling her brows. Dean feels Castiel’s hands tighten on his, as if to warn him to let it go. Which he knows is the right thing to do otherwise he’ll spend the day breaking his fists on the archangel’s face, only to be healed again.

Although tempted, Dean takes a deep cleansing breath before speaking again. “So… what do you want, Gabriel? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Castiel told you already… I need help.”

“You’re an archangel, man. How the fuck can we be of any help to you?”

“He’s pretty much powerless, Dean. And his wings are broken and torn.”

“So? He can’t be that powerless if I broke my hand on his fucking jaw, can he?”

“I have enough juice to protect myself, but not much more. I hate to be asking anything of you, but I have no choice at this point. Well, I’m actually asking Castiel except he doesn’t seem to be able to do a single thing without the Winchesters as his shadow.”

“They’re my friends, Gabriel.” Castiel tilts his head a little, squinting at his brother. “I don’t expect you to understand what that means.”

It takes Gabriel giving a pointed look to Castiel’s hands still holding Dean’s to make the hunter harrumph and cower back. This time, the archangel gives Dean a wide grin and a wink.

“Shut up!” Dean spits before turning to Castiel. “So what now? We forget about Tennessee and bring this guy back home?”

“I don’t think we have a choice, Dean. Gabriel must be protected; he’s the last of his kind. The last viable one, anyway.”

Without even looking, Dean knows that Gabriel must have a smug look on his face right now. Her face… whatever. Male or female, this douche just erased any kind of sympathy Dean had for him following his so-called sacrifice at Lucifer’s hand. I had been nothing but a sham.

“Gonna go check out. I’ll join you in the car.” Dean flings his duffle over his shoulder. “And before either of you get any idea… I’m driving and he’s sitting in the back!” Dean says, pointing at Gabriel

Before Dean can leave, Gabriel comes to stand in front of him, having to look up to meet his eyes. “See this?” the angel says, sliding a sensual hand over the vessel’s curves. “I’m wearing a girl now. My name is still Gabrielle, but you’ll be referring to me as her, and she, and even princess if that’s what you feel like doing. Understood?”

Pursing his lips, Dean nods and leaves the room, not in the mood to start on that particular discussion.

~ • ~

“You’re lying.”

Jordan is looking down at Gabrielle with her arms crossed, frowning.

“I slept with a man, you guys know that, right? Kinda had a kid from it?”

“Angels are genderless,” both Castiel and Gabriel say at once. 

“We don’t have bodies per say. We need to inhabit a human vessel to interact with your kind,” Castiel explains while Gabriel just nods.

It doesn’t seem enough to convince Jordan who keeps her eyes on the petite woman.

“Where’s Steven then? Or his body, I guess.”

“Getting a vessel strong enough to hold an archangel is extremely difficult; I had to leave him before he would explode. He’s living the same life he did before I came along.” Gabrielle points her thumb to the brothers. “These guys, they can totally hold archangels. That’s the main reason they ever existed. Too bad they won’t wanna help an old friend.” Before either of them can answer, she gets on her tiptoes and spins, making the skirt of her baby blue sundress twirl. “Was lucky enough to find this pretty little thing in a Lafayette monastery. Haven’t worn anyone this comfortable since losing my main squeeze.”

“You’re riding a nun?” Dean says, a bit shocked.

“You can bet your pretty little butt I am…” Gabriel stops spinning and looks up at the much taller Jordan. “Even in this day an age, Jasmine strongly believed that God would frown upon her homosexuality. She felt becoming a nun was the only way she could ever ascend to Heaven.”

Sam is the first to speak. “You could have just told her the truth instead of taking advantage of her like that. You know as well as we do that God doesn’t care about that stuff.”

“I showed her the truth, yes. She was very grateful that I did, but her family still would disown her. She couldn’t have that and insisted on helping me, so here I am. Just can’t say for how long I’ll be keeping her.” Gabriel turns her attention back to Jordan and smiles. “But while I’m here, you know… maybe we could pick up from where we left off and—”

“What? No! I don’t care that God’s okay with it, I’m not! I mean, I don’t have a sexual interest in girls,” Jordan says as she takes a couple of steps back. “And even if you were still wearing Steven, you can be sure I’d be passing on that too.”

“That’s okay. We have time,” Gabriel says with a salacious wink, making Jordan visibly shudder. “So, where’s that son of mine? When can I see him?”

The panicked look on Jordan’s face doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s Castiel who answers, keeping an eye on Jordan.

“I think most of us would prefer to know why you did what you did before giving you access to the child.”

“You got that right,” Dean says, coming to stand between Jordan and Gabriel.

“I just wanna meet him.”

“Not a chance,” Sam says, going to stand next to his brother. “He’s just a baby, Gabriel. As long as we don’t know what you want with him, we can’t let you see him.”

“It’s my child! And I’m still powerful enough to just beat the crap out of you and go find him myself.”

Jordan walks around the Winchester brothers so she can look at Gabrielle in the eye. “Micah is mine! I don’t care what you say you are.” She then turns to Castiel. “Make her talk,” she says as she goes to leave. She hesitates then comes back to face Gabrielle.

“Can she hear me? Jasmine?”

“I prefer not to use my power on dulling her out, so yes, she hears and sees everything that’s going on.”

Jordan nods and comes closer to speak right into Gabrielle’s ear.

“I’m sorry, Jasmine. You’re a very pretty girl and surely super nice, but I really don’t swing that way, not that there’s anything wrong with that. And even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to deal with the angel wearing you. So, please don’t take my rejection personally,” Jordan says before turning around again and stomping out of the room.

~ • ~

Gabriel is sitting at the map table, sipping on a beer while the brothers and Castiel wait for him to start answering their questions. Seems this can’t happen before the bottle is good and empty. She lets out a loud burp and a satisfied sigh before speaking.

“You have to know… when I got with Jordan, Dad was still M.I.A. Kinda wanted Him to come back, you know? Nothing else had worked and I felt nephilim were our best shot.”

Dean and Castiel glance at each other, both with the same thought in mind: _Kids acting up._

“Seems what it took was Amara,” Castiel provides, making Gabriel nod.

“Yeah… should have seen that coming when this meathead here took on the mark. But yeah, there I was, stuck on Earth with no wings and close to powerless thanks to Metatron… and you!” Gabrielle adds, landing an annoyed stare on Castiel. “I had to find my way back home and I needed God for that. He intervened last time the angels mated with humans so I believed He would again.”

“All right, that’s your reason. What about the others?”

“I may have been chatting with some of the angels that chose not to fight. Convincing them how God would have to come back if nephilim plagued the Earth again was pretty easy. Micah wasn’t the first nephal born after the fall, but the fourth.” Sadness settles over Gabriel’s face. “The thought of Micah knowing the same fate as the others was the scariest thing I ever encountered. I had to do something.”

“What’s the difference between angels or God killing the child?” Dean asks, not ready to believe the archangel’s sentiment to be genuine. He can’t help the ache in his heart when Gabriel gives him a troubled look.

“I didn’t know, Dean. I never thought I’d get attached to the kid. I never even saw him. It’s like—it’s like—like I can feel his soul shimmering through the little grace I have left. I feel him and… maybe it’s because I’m almost human but I can’t imagine this little guy ever ceasing to exist. I’d lay down my life for him.”

Nobody talks for a moment, not sure what to say. Because they all understand, to some extent anyway.

“You said you still have some of your grace left… why did you ask a witch to do your dirty work? Why didn’t you just come and tell us that?” Sam doesn’t even bother tempering the frustration from his tone.

“Would you believe me if I said that I couldn’t find you? You’re warded, all of you…”

“Kinda hard to believe you, Gabe. You did find us at the motel,” Dean points out. He notices Gabriel and Castiel exchanging a furtive glance. “Fuck me! You prayed to him? I thought we had to summon him like we did Raphael.”

Castiel shrugs, not looking the least bit apologetic. “For that, we needed his vessel and we didn’t have it. I thought I’d try praying to him instead. It worked, didn’t it?.”

“Some kind of heads-up would have been nice, is all,” Dean says, pouting. “Still doesn’t explain the witch.”

“At first, I only wanted her so she could do a tracking spell. But then… I couldn’t help myself, I thought that I could try having a bit of fun. While I warned you about Micah, of course.” A shadow, although furtive, passes over Gabrielle’s features. “Did you really have to kill the witch?”

Sam shakes his head, looking at Gabrielle in the eye. “That’s on you, Gabrielle. It’s your own fault that she’s dead. We were only doing our job.”

While Sam admonishes the archangel, anger starts bubbling in Dean’s gut when he thinks about all that stuff he’s dreamt about. The son of a bitch had been having fun, all right.

“Whatever makes you sleep better at night,” Gabrielle says, looking amused again. “So… I needed to find you and knew this old blood magic spell… found the appropriate djinn then went to the witch, gave her some of my own blood too.” Gabriel turns to Dean with a satisfied smirk. “My blood in the potion made it so I could to control your brain, make you see whatever I wanted you to see.”

The only reason Dean isn’t spewing his guts all over the table is because his jaw is shut tight. He’s never been this angry at someone. Or something.

“Why me?” he manages to say through gritted teeth. 

“She went with the easiest mark, Dean… serves you right to be a horny drunk! Can’t say I was disappointed though. I don’t imagine I would have had as much fun playing around in Sammy’s mind. He’s too… collected, almost normal. But your melon? What a trip that was!”

“Shut up, Gabriel!”

“Come on, Sammy. You know I’m telling the truth. The things I found buried in your brother’s mind… just delicious!”

It’s Castiel who intervenes next. “Gabriel, leave him alone! Haven’t you tortured him enough already?”

“Tortured? Really? From what I’ve seen, he’s been having the time of his life. Didn’t you, Dean-O?”

But Dean can’t answer, already feeling the bile in the back of his throat. If he tries to look up or speak, he’ll be sick, he just knows it. He gets up with his eyes screwed shut and runs out, lucky enough not to run in anything on the way. He hears both Castiel and his brother call after him but doesn’t stop.

Instead of going to the bathroom, he runs to the garage to go hide in his car. He’s tempted to just drive away, but the old leather and oil smell are soothing enough to help him calm down a bit.

He’ll be fine.

And he truly believes it, right up until he sees Gabrielle enter the garage and make a beeline for the Impala. If it wasn’t for Cas, he would have warded the shit out of Baby a long time ago.

“Care if I join you?” she says, for once sounding anything but sarcastic. That’s a nice change, although probably bogus.

“Do I have a choice?”

“That was God’s greatest gift to your kind, so yes, I imagine that you do.”

Dean doesn’t answer, instead shrugging and motioning to the passenger side. He observes her as she gets in, the skirt of her dress riding up high on her thighs. Dean can’t help but look, thinking how the girl had great legs for a nun.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, would you?” Gabrielle says when she spots Dean’s eyes on her. “I’m not letting you get your hands on this girl.”

“Like hell I would. Not while you’re wearing her meat suit anyway.” Dean can’t help a smug smile from grazing his lips. “Even I have standards.”

And there’s that Gabriel patented smirk again. “I know for a fact that you have a thing for angels, Dean. If I really wanted to – and I don’t – you’d be pining over me within a second.”

That’s enough to make Dean lose his shit. “What the fuck, Gabrielle! Why in the hell would you go and make me dream about Cas this way? How in the fucking world does this help Micah or anyone else? Are you just that cruel?”

Again, Gabriel’s smirk kind of disappears, soon replaced by something akin to compassion. 

“Dean, I promise I didn’t put that in there. I’ll admit I helped push things along, but only because of the true sentiments buried in that thick skull of yours. You were the one to fill in the details, Dean… only you. Told you there were many, many interesting things in there.”

“Well, I hope you’re satisfied because now I get to mourn stuff that never actually happened. So thanks for that.” Dean thinks for a second then scowls at Gabriel. “You know what? I don’t believe you, it’s a load of crap. With what happened at the motel, there’s no way you haven’t been running the entire show while I was out. Stop trying to pin this shit on me.”

“Oh… that! Okay, your little dirty pants incident… that mostly came from me. Sadly for you, it seems the elixir you were given still hasn’t been entirely flushed from your body. I can still steer your thoughts in every which way I choose. Even when you’re awake.

The hunter lets out a sad chuckle. “You’re a fucking piece of work, you know that? Don’t you think we have better things to do than star in your lame porn scenarios?”

“To be honest, I thought you’d be taking all that pent up frustration to finally grab Castiel by the lapels of his stupid trenchcoat and plant one on him. If nothing else, I have to admire your ability to restrain yourself.”

“I’m not about to force myself on someone who doesn’t want me.”

“How can you not see it? He wants you just as much as you want him, kiddo.”

“You’re full of shit, Gabrielle. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not working.” Dean starts up the engine and turns to the archangel. “Get the fuck out of my car!”

“But, Dean—”

“Don’t make me push you out!”

Gabrielle chuckles as she opens the door. “Yeah, okay… whatever you say, Dean-O. I may still be a trickster at heart, but I’m not lying to you. Not about this particular thing anyway.”

As soon as the door closes on the archangel, Dean goes into the tunnel leading outside. All he needs is to put some distance between him and the fuck up that his life has become, and he knows the perfect place to do this.

When Donnie drops his usual plate of nachos and beer in front of him, Dean can finally breathe right for the first time that day.

~ • ~

Opening his eyes to see his bedroom comes as a shock for Dean. He doesn’t recall coming back home the night before. He groans and hides underneath the covers as he remembers the previous day’s shit storm. Once again, he’s tempted to ask Cas to just wipe his mind clean of those nine months that never really happened. It’s not like there’s anything more that could help them with their current case.

“Dean? Are you awake?”

Castiel’s voice coming from the other side of his door startles him. He has to clear his throat to answer.

“Yeah, yeah… come in,” he says as he sits up, making sure to keep the lower half of his body covered.

The angel comes in and closes the door before coming to sit on the bed. Dean’s heart starts racing, making him cringe; angels have great hearing.

“You didn’t look so good when you came back yesterday, thought I’d check up on you.”

“Thanks, buddy, but I’m fine.” Dean tries to smile but he knows it might not look as genuine as he hopes. If he’s lucky, Castiel won’t see the difference.

“I know you, Dean. You’re lying.”

“Yeah… I do that. But don’t worry about me, all right?”

“How can I not?” Castiel asks as he grabs one of Dean’s hands in his. “If anything were to happen to you, I don’t know how I could ever survive.”

The angel’s words, rather than feeling nice, are like ice pellets shooting through Dean’s veins. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before speaking again.

“Gabrielle, you son of a bitch! Get out of my fucking head!”

“Dean?”

Castiel sounds worried but Dean refuses to let himself be tricked again and keeps his eyes closed. “Can it! You’re not real, so fuck you!”

“What do you mean, I’m not real? Dean, what’s wrong with you?” Castiel lands a soft hand over Dean’s jaw, brushing a gentle thumb on his cheek. “Can’t you feel this?”

He can feel it all right, but Dean knows it’s not real. Castiel would never do this, not the one from reality. He pinches himself, hoping that’ll make him wake up. No dice!

“Stop fucking with me, all right? Just stop!”

But the angel doesn’t listen and dips down to kiss him on the mouth. He stays there, unmoving, waiting for Dean to accept him and take the lead. And Dean is right about to cave even though he knows it’s just an illusion. Cas smells too good, and his lips are too warm and soft. Before Dean can even make his mind, he’s holding the back of Castiel’s neck and has his tongue inside the angel’s mouth.

It’s easy to forget that nothing is real when it feels so nice, so that’s what Dean does. Forgotten are Gabrielle, Jordan, and Micah. Forgotten is the witch and her stupid spell. Forgotten is anything outside the angel’s toned body. How and when they got naked is the least important thing right now as he kisses down Cas’s neck and chest.

“I’ve missed you,” he says, his lips catching onto Castiel’s erect nipple. Suck. Nip. Lick. “I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

All that answers Dean are those low and gravelly moans that have been fueling all of his naughty thoughts. He licks his way down, dipping his tongue in Castiel’s navel. There it is, so close, Castiel’s awesome dick.

The familiarity of Castiel’s weight in his mouth is almost enough to make Dean start weeping. He swallows the beloved cock down, humming his delight as he does. His fingers prickle with the anticipation of plunging deep inside Castiel’s hole. He takes his mouth off Castiel and grabs the bottle of lube from the side table’s drawer.

“Lie down for me,” Dean murmurs as he coats his fingers. 

The angel obeys, scooting down the bed and placing a pillow under his hips. He spreads his legs, his feet flat on the bed to present his ass. Dean’s mouth waters and he swallows hard. He doesn’t care anymore that it’s a dream; he needs to eat that ass out.

Dean spreads Castiel’s ass cheeks and marvels at the sight before him. Who ever thought he’d go crazy for a slightly hairy man hole? He licks his lips and dips down to give the puckered skin a tentative lick. Castiel sucks in a breath as his hole quivers, all things an angel shouldn’t be doing. Again, Dean doesn’t care as he starts licking and kissing the rim. He soon pushes his tongue inside, making the angel yelp.

“You okay?” Dean asks, his breath hot on Castiel’s hole. All that answers the hunter is a shaky throat noise, which sounds positive enough for him to push a first finger in, making Castiel softly yelp again.

“More,” Castiel soon says in a whine while Dean massages his insides with his index finger. “Fuck!” he lets out when Dean’s two fingers breach him, making the hunter chuckle. He loves how Castiel will start swearing whenever they fuck.

_Not real_ , he reminds himself again, if only not to go crazy. Still, whatever’s happening feels real enough for him be hard and leaking, wanting to just claim the angel’s ass already. Getting impatient, he dips down again to open Cas up with his tongue and a third finger.

“Enough!” the angel says. “Get in me.”

And Dean couldn’t be more eager to obey. He sits back on his heels and thinks about getting a condom from the side table. Seeing Cas wrecked and looking at him with such hunger is enough to remind Dean again how this is all a dream. _No need for condoms when you dream fuck_ , he concludes as he squirts some lube on his hard cock. _Do we even need lube?_

He decides that it doesn’t matter as he pushes Castiel’s thighs up and gets between them to align himself. As the head catches onto Cas’s hole, their eyes do the same and neither of them blink as Dean bottoms out a little at a time, pulling out, then in again, up until his ball rest against Castiel’s ass.

With his hands on either sides of Castiel’s head, Dean dives down to catch the angel’s mouth with his.

“Move,” the angel murmurs against his lips.

Dean obeys, claiming Cas’s lips again as he does, soon finding the ideal rhythm. He knows his dick catches onto the angel’s prostate when he swallows Castiel’s shaky moan. God, he’d give everything he owns for all of this to be real. Except he can’t dwell on that and instead just enjoys the thrill, the warmth, and the sensual build-up, no matter how fake it all is.

“Touch me,” Castiel now pleads, his hand already at work on his own dick. Dean gladly takes over, holding himself up on a single shaky forearm. He won’t be able to hold on much longer, his whole body wound up in anticipation of the sweet release.

“I’m—I’m coming, Cas… god… I’m coming,” he says in a rasp, unable to wait anymore. _Oh yeah, fuck condoms_ , he thinks as his come fills up the angel’s ass. It makes it all so much better, pumping his hips even more easily now with the help of his own spill. “You’re so fucking awesome,” he murmurs as he slides out before going to take Cas’s dick in his mouth again.

“Fuck! Dean… I’m almost there… shit!” He tries to push Dean away, but the man resists.

Castiel is deep down Dean’s throat when he comes, his hands buried in the hunter’s hair. Dean makes sure to lick the angel clean, even licking some of his own sperm oozing from Castiel’s hole. As long as he thought everything was real, he never dared to try this particular kink. But dream felching? He had to at least try.

He climbs up the bed to come lie next to the panting angel, feeling the need to cuddle him as they come back down. They would do this a lot in the djinn world, there’s no reason this should be any different.

“That’s not what I came here for, you know?”

The angel’s serious tone tempers a bit with Dean’s own bliss.

“Ah yeah? What for then?”

“You have to come back to the bunker.”

Dean looks around to see that they are in his room, in the bunker. “What the hell are you talkin’ about, Cas? We are in the bunker.”

“I am, but you’re not. You need to come back. I don’t know where you are.”

Somebody knocks on his bedroom door, but Dean ignores it.

“Wait… I know this is a dream but… are you real? Are you fucking dreamwalking right now?”

Dean can see Castiel’s lips move, but he can’t hear a single word over the loud knocking.

“I can’t hear you Cas. Speak up!”

The knocks get louder and it’s enough for Dean to wake up. Turns out Castiel was right; he’s not home. Instead, he’s sprawled on the front seat of his car in the bar’s parking lot. The knocking isn’t stopping, hammering in his brain.

“Dean! Open the damn door, would you?”

Sam is outside the car, knocking on the passenger window so hard it makes it rattle.

“Cut it out!” Dean yells as he unlocks the door and slides behind the wheel. “Who told you I was here?”

His brother gets in, his lips pinched in frustration. “Nobody had to tell me. I know you, Dean.”

Dean looks around to find that there are no other cars. “And how did you get here?”

“Cas zapped me here.” 

Dean can feel the tip of his ears grow hot when he notices his brother glance down at his crotch and the slight shock in his eyes. He’s tempted to look down on himself but he doesn’t need to; he knows he came in his pants and there’s no way he could ever pass the wet stain as pee.

“So… wanna tell me what happened?” Sam asks before letting out an embarrassed chuckle. “In the bunker, I mean.”

Dean glowers at his brother but doesn’t comment on Sam’s not so subtle jab. Instead, he starts up the car before responding. “Had a chat with Gabrielle. You might imagine how well that went,” he says as he gets back onto the road. “Asked her why she made me dream of being with Cas, but she says that shit was all me.”

“And you don’t believe her?”

“That’s just it, Sammy… I do.”

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who would have ever thought that asking Castiel to keep an eye on Gabrielle could be a problem?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m such an impatient person!! (as it says at the bottom of pretty much every chapter I’ve ever written… you know, too damn impatient to wait for a beta and such…)
> 
> Anywho! Why wait when I’m already working on the next chapter? That’d just be cruel, wouldn’t it?
> 
> And, I gotta say, the response to this fic surpasses my expectations, so it’s really giving me extra energy to write because I wanna make you guys happy!
> 
> So there you go, I hope you’ll like this. I think I’ve upped the angst a bit, don’t you think? (not sorry about that… I know you love angst… and smut. Which is coming soon, no fear!)
> 
> I’ll stop babbling now… please enjoy and don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feeeeelings with me. I’m open to everything!
> 
> See you soon, my lovelies! <3
> 
> .

Sam’s fingers are flying on the keyboard as he grunts, making his brother quirk an eyebrow.

“You all right there, Sammy? What’s going on?”

“I keep seeing news reports about women and their babies dying in the fire of their homes. They’ve apparently started to link the events and are now talking about a serial killer.”

“Don’t you think it’s weird that Gabrielle can’t tell us who might be next? She’s the one who’s been convincing the angels to procreate, or so she says.”

“He—she says the ones she convinced have already died. The rest of them, it’d be a word of mouth type of thing. I can believe that.”

Dean scratches the back of his neck as he vies to find a solution. “Maybe Cas could emit a warning on angel radio or something. Or we could.” He feels his face warming up as he thinks back at how Gadreel came to possess his brother. “I did that once… after the angel fell, I prayed to all of them hoping one would come and save you.”

The pinch in Sam’s lips is close to imperceptible, but Dean still sees it.

“Anyway… sent a prayer to every angel and I was heard, all right.”

“I hate to say this, but they probably already know. Praying to all about this stuff may just put the children and moms even more at risk.”

“So what? We stay here with our thumbs up our asses?”

“Charlie made some kind of program that lifts all the newborn announcements off the web… in America at least. She sent the thing to me but so far, it hasn’t been helping. The only way to know if the newborns are nephilim is with that mark on their inner thigh. And that’s not something that makes it on those little newspaper snippets.”

“So, again… nothing else we can do?”

“Well… if Cas is doing well enough to fly around, I’m thinking he could be getting the alerts on his phone and go check out the newborns himself.”

“And then what?”

Sam doesn’t answer and goes back to type and huff while Dean fiddles with his own computer. Except he’s not researching because he wouldn’t know what to look for. As he watches at the muted anime on his screen, he thinks about praying to Cas. The angel left the second he came back with Sam, wanting to stretch his wings he said. It takes a whole lot out of Dean to not feel dejected, especially since he still doesn’t know if them fucking had been real or not.

The Skype chime on Sam’s computer pulls Dean out of his thoughts. Sam answers, his face now sporting a delighted smile.

“Hey, Eileen,” he says and signs. 

Dean observes his brother from the corner of his eye as he converses with Eileen. He understand most of what his brother is saying, something about werewolves, and hunting, and help. He remembers the djinn dream and wonders if Sam will insist to go help her alone as he did then.

Sam soon hangs up and closes his computer. “So… Eileen says there’s a huge clan of werewolves in Montana. I think we should go take a look.”

“We? Wouldn’t you prefer to just… be alone with her?”

“From what she says, there’s a lot of them. Not the ideal timing for thinking about that stuff. What I’m worried about is leaving Jordan and Micah alone with Gabrielle.”

“Right… that won’t work. So what? You go and I stay here?”

“She needs all the help she can get, Dean. We should ask Cas to come back to keep an eye on everything here instead.”

“Pretty sure angel trumps werewolf in a fight. He’d be a better asset than either of us.”

Sam nods although he doesn’t look convinced. “He’s an even better asset against an archangel with dulled out powers. Cas is our best chance to protect Micah and his mom from Gabrielle.”

“True.” Dean closes his eyes to pray, although he knows that makes no difference. “Cas? Got your ears on? We need you to come back home, Sam and I got a hunt to go to and we need you to babysit.”

The flutter of Castiel’s wings can be heard almost immediately as he appears on top of the stairs. “I’m not the best of babysitters, Dean,” Castiel says as he walks down to join them. “Remember Nora?”

It’s Sam who specifies what they need him for. “We actually need you to babysit Gabrielle.”

The confused frown that appears on the angel’s face makes Dean’s heart leap. He’s tempted to punch himself on the chest so it would stop, but ultimately decides against it.

“I believe Gabrielle can take care of herself.”

“Of course, but we’d rather not leave her alone with Jordan and Micah. I don’t trust that douche in the slightest.” 

Castiel’s eyes meet Dean’s and the hunter can’t say if he’s relieved or saddened by the absence of warmth he sees in there. It’s enough to be convinced the angel hadn’t been squatting his dream earlier.

“I don’t trust him either, Dean. I will act as a guardian for our friends while you and your brother go do what you need to do.”

~ • ~

For the first time since Gabrielle’s arrival, Jordan brings Micah and his vibrating chair to sit with the angels in the library. She still hasn’t permitted Gabrielle to hold him, but she lets her coo at her son from a safe enough distance.

“He’s so beautiful,” the archangel says, clearly in awe with the child. “Thank you, Jordan. For letting me see him.”

When Gabrielle goes to caress the baby’s face with her fingers, she notices Castiel letting his blade fall in his hand. She retracts her hand but still wears an amused expression.

“Told you I’m not gonna hurt him.”

“Jordan said no,” Castiel says, not letting go of his weapon. “I won’t hesitate to use my blade, Gabrielle. Step away from Micah.”

As the angels glare at one another, they hear Jordan let out an annoyed breath. “Oh, all right, Gabrielle. You can hold him,” she says as she picks Micah up. “But only when Castiel is there. I’d think he’s the only one who could stop you if you tried anything.”

“I won’t,” the archangel promises, extending her arms to receive the child. The bliss on her face as she gets to hold Micah is enough to make Castiel get rid of his blade; the child may be safe after all.

“Hello there, beautiful,” Gabrielle coos as she softly rocks the baby from side to side. “Cas, I swear, this is where humanity is at its best. I wouldn’t mind never getting back my powers or my wings if I could keep on doing that.” She then looks up at Jordan with mist in her eyes. “I know it could never compare to your bond with him, but I’d say it’s pretty damn close. Makes me wanna keep Jasmine and get pregnant. Experience this hands on, you know?”

Although the sentiment appears to be coming from a good place, it bristles Jordan enough to make her go and grab her son back. “Having a child is a sacred experience, Gabrielle. If Jasmine ever wants to have one for herself, you don’t have the right to go and take that from her. You weren’t made to have kids so just get over yourself and accept that.”

“Well, it went famously, don’t you think?” Gabrielle says after Jordan has left the room with Micah. “She’s a fiery one, that one. I kinda regret wearing a girl right now because—”

“Gabrielle, would you just shut up?”

“And what crawled up your butt, little brother? Or… what didn’t?”

Castiel squints at Gabrielle, knowing there has to be a second degree in there. He’s just not in the mood to try and understand it right now. “I hoped that your recent experiences would have made you more sympathetic to human’s emotions. You can’t go around and use them the way you do.”

“At least I don’t kill them anymore. That’s good, right?”

Castiel rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “I really wish Father would come back to just pull you by the ear and bring you back to Heaven. At least you weren’t being a menace as you hid up there.”

“You know, with my lack of power and you with all of yours, you probably could do this yourself.” Gabrielle grins, scrunching up her nose as she does. “But you won’t do that, will you? You’re just as unwelcomed as I am, aren’t you?”

“I don’t care if I’m welcomed or not. I’m far more useful if I stay here, on Earth.”

How Gabrielle’s smile can get even wider is nothing short of a miracle, yet it does. “You and I both know being useful is not the main reason you hang around the Winchesters.”

“What else could there be? They are fabulous hunters and I believe helping them rid the world of evil is my sacred duty.”

“Bullcrap!” The offended look on Castiel’s face is so reminiscent of Sam Winchester’s own that Gabrielle can’t help but laugh. “You’re even starting to look like them.”

“What other reason should I have to help Sam and Dean? They keep sacrificing themselves for the greater good, the least I can do is be there for them when they need my help.”

Gabrielle tilts her head to look at Castiel, not looking as amused anymore. “I honestly can’t tell if you’re lying to me right now. Knowing you, there’s still a chance that you might really believe what you’re saying.”

Castiel is about to start explaining that he’s in fact not lying when Gabrielle raises a finger to her own lips. Satisfied to see Castiel obey, she comes to sit on the chair next to his, turning it to face him.

“Listen to me for a minute, okay?” She smiles, crossing her hands over her lap. “See… you think you’re an angel, but you’re not. Not anymore. You fell and were tainted by humanity, from lack of a better word. You can never be a true angel again.”

“But—”

“Shush! Yeah, you have your grace, your powers, and your wings are close to being healed. But it’s not enough… you remember your stint as a human, don’t you?”

Castiel huffs as he wiggles a bit on his chair. “Of course.”

“Remember feelings? How they invaded every little cell of your being?” Castiel’s nod makes Gabrielle smile. “You can never come back from that, little brother. I know for a fact that you use a whole lot of your grace to dull everything human-related and you shouldn’t even have to do that. Your vessel is empty, there’s no human to shut up. Whatever you’re trying to repress is solely yours, Castiel.”

“You don’t understand… I can’t be an angel and let myself feel like humans do. It will only make me weaker.”

“Says who?”

“I do… especially when those feelings can only get in the way of my purpose.”

_And there it is_ , Gabrielle thinks, ecstatic at the idea of making her brother see those things he’s been trying to hide from. “I’ll need a better reason than that.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Why don’t you start with the reasoning behind you giving up everything that you are for the sake of this one guy.”

“It’s not just one guy, Gabrielle. He’s the righteous man. And saving him often enough goes hand in hand with saving the world.”

“That boat has sailed a long time ago, Cas, and you know it. Michael’s gone and with it, Dean’s primary purpose on this Earth. Now tell me, how did you feel about him when you were human?”

Castiel shrugs, hating to think about that time of his life. “I had mixed emotions, I guess. At first, I couldn’t understand why they would reject me the way they did. I was hurt… but now I understand.”

“Not them, Cas. Him… Dean,” Gabrielle specifies again.

“I don’t know… I don’t know what it is you want me to say, Gabrielle. There were too many emotions, and I never could identify most of them.”

“Okay… let me tell you a little story, then. See, when Dean was under the witch’s spell—”

“Your spell! Dean told us everything that’s happened.”

“Fine, my spell. And no, Dean didn’t tell you everything. Most of it, he kept for himself or he shared only with Sam.”

“Then I’d prefer if you didn’t tell me. If Dean thought he’d rather not tell me what happened, that’s his right.”

Gabrielle uncrosses her legs to lean into Castiel’s space, resting her forearms on her inelegantly spread thighs. “It concerns you, brother. I know he told you about being graceless, but what you don’t know is that you and Dean were in a relationship. The sexual kind… a great gay love affair and what not.”

Castiel leans back on his chair and swallows. “Why would you make him dream about that? No wonder he’s been weird since we got him back.” 

“I didn’t, Cas. He came up with that all on his own. Well, I did help a little to spark things up, but only because the feelings were already in there, buried under years and years of fear and self-hatred.”

“Why the fuck are you telling him this shit?”

Castiel is startled when Jordan seemingly appears out of nowhere. It’s enough to kind of make him understand why Dean keeps saying Cas should be wearing a bell.

“Because he deserves to know,” Gabrielle answers, not looking away from Castiel. “And because I kinda find it amusing, I won’t lie.”

“You really are an asshole, aren’t you? Castiel, don’t listen to her, she’s just—”

Castiel isn’t listening to either of them anymore as he slaps his glowing palm over the young vessel’s forehead.

“No!” he hears Jordan scream, but it’s not enough to stop him.

She can only watch as Castiel looks like he’s trying to start a fire on Gabrielle’s head. “Stop it!” she screams again when she notices Castiel’s face turn grayish.

Before Jordan can even find a way to intervene, the glowing light has disappeared and both angels are looking at each other; Gabrielle is smirking while Cas looks like he’s about to faint.

Gabrielle’s tone is triumphant when she speaks again. “Told ya!”

~ • ~

It takes three days for Sam and Dean to come back to the bunker, bringing Eileen back with them. Three days where Castiel spent most of his time huddled in his room or taking care of Micah. As for Gabrielle, she made herself scarce, choosing Sam’s room to lounge in and read. 

Castiel is hanging out in the kitchen, checking up on Micah while Jordan prepares herself some lunch, when he hears the Impala entering the garage. “I have to go,” he says after putting the baby back in his high chair. When Jordan turns around, Castiel has already disappeared.

The hunters walk in the kitchen a mere ten seconds later. While Sam and Eileen just wave as they keep on going to reach his room, Dean drops his bag on the table to go pick up Micah.

“Well, hello there, little man. Did you miss me? Huh? Did ya? Because I certainly missed you!” He hears Jordan chuckling and gives her a sheepish look. “Sorry…”

“No need to be sorry. I’m glad you like him. He likes you too, I can tell.”

Dean gives the mother a wide smile and nods. “So… everything went okay? No trouble?”

“No… not really.”

“That’s not reassuring at all, Jordan.”

Jordan turns her back to Dean to hide her face as she keeps preparing her sandwich. “Gabrielle and Cas… they kinda had a thing. Nothing major… just… the last three days have been pretty tense, to say the least.”

“What did they fight about? Do you know?”

“I don’t think I should be the one to tell you about it. You better ask Cas.”

Worried, Dean puts Micah back in the chair and walks up to Jordan. “Ah yeah? And where is he? Cas?”

“Dunno… he poofed out right before you guys came in.”

Dean nods and leans back on the counter to be able to see Jordan’s expression. She looks all but comfortable. “So you tell me, then.”

“Dean, I don’t think—”

“Please, Jordan. Cas has this tendency to disappear and unless I know what’s happening, I can’t help him. He just won’t let me, or anyone. So spill.”

She slams the knife she had been holding onto the cutting board and sighs. “All right… I don’t know exactly what happened. Cas’s hand was glowing and he put it on Gabrielle’s head and then he looked like he was gonna be sick, all pale and weird. Gabrielle didn’t seem to get hurt though… she was still her nasty self after that.”

Dean can feel himself getting pale and sweaty himself. “What else? What did Cas say?”

“He didn’t say nothing. But… shit… I’m sorry, Dean… Gabrielle had been telling Castiel that you liked him and that you were together or something.”

“Shit! Shit-shit-shit-shit-shit! Gabrielle, you bitch! What the fuck did you do?” Dean screams as he grabs his angel blade from his duffel bag. “Where is she?”

“She’s been hanging out in Sam’s room,” Jordan says in a stammer as the hunter rushes out of the kitchen.

When he gets to the bedrooms, he almost slams into the archangel who’s being kicked out of his brother’s room. “You son of a bitch,” Dean says in a low growl as he pushes the petite woman against the wall. Weirdly, it’s easier than it should have been.

“Dean!”

Dean doesn’t acknowledge his brother and rests the tip of his blade on Gabrielle’s neck. The archangel’s crooked smile is almost enough for Dean to just go and stab her.

“That little thing can’t kill me, Dean-O. You’d need an archangel blade.”

“I don’t care… I’d just love to see you bleed.”

Gabrielle glances at Sam who’s standing next to them, looking a bit out of sorts. “Your brother’s a psychopath, Sammy. You know that, right?” Sam doesn’t have time to chime in on the issue before Dean talks again.

“Fuck you, Gabe! What did you tell him?”

“Who? Cas? Nothing much! Ask Jordan.”

“Yeah, she told me all right. What’s with the glowing hand?”

“Oh, that! Your favorite angel decided he’d go and see for himself what happened in that little head of yours… and since I saw it all, well… he was shocked, to say the least.”

“Why would you do that?”

“He’s the one who decided to check it out, bucko. Without my permission, I might add. I kinda feel violated now that I think about it.”

Whatever Gabrielle is saying isn’t making its way to Dean because he’s too angry. Out of sheer luck, he doesn’t break his hand from the first punch he lands on the archangel’s face. He can’t say how long he’s been hitting the vessel when it finally happens. And he can’t say if it’s his right or left hand that breaks first. All he knows is that he can’t stop trying to beating her into a pulp. Which is about as easy as trying to mash a slab of concrete with a fork.

There’s noise around them, something other than Dean’s own bones shattering, but he ignores it. Until he can’t deal with the pain anymore and flings himself away from Gabrielle with an enraged cry. The next second, he’s sobbing, his eyes screwed shut and the air harsh on his bloodied hands.

An unnatural warmth soon envelops his hands, then courses through his whole body. He opens his eyes to see Gabrielle cradling his fists in her hands, the blood splatter on her blue dress the only proof of what just happened. He still has a bit of fight in him but it’s not enough to make him cower back or start punching again.

“You shouldn’t be doing that,” he says instead, his voice trembling. “You’re wasting your grace.”

There’s a glint in Gabrielle’s eyes when they meet Dean’s, yet her voice is soft. “Like you care what happens to me, Dean-O.”

Dean shrugs, evading the archangel’s searching stare. “I care what happens to Jasmine,” he says with a crack in his voice. “Did she—did I hurt—is she okay?” he asks, finally looking up.

Gabrielle nods and smiles. “She is, I made sure of that. I’d never let her get hurt.”

“Did I hurt you then?”

“Ever so slightly… I’m just glad you forgot about the angel blade,” she adds with a smile before letting go of his hands. She gets to her feet, grabbing the blade from the floor to hand it back to Dean. “I’ll be getting out of your way now. Just come knock if you need me,” she says before disappearing into Castiel’s room. 

Dean hates to think the archangel is getting his paws all over Cas’s stuff – not that he has much of anything – but he lets it go. For now.

“What was that about?” he hears Sam ask. He’d forgotten his brother had even been there and he turns around to face him. It almost comes as a shock to see Eileen too standing there.

“She’s a douchebag, that’s what it’s about,” he says, trying to sign for their friend’s benefit.

Sam nods as he extends a hand to haul his brother up. “I take that he told Cas about you two?

He glances at Eileen, then at his brother. “I don’t wanna talk about it, Sam.”

“But—”

“Just… leave me alone,” Dean spits as he too goes to lock himself in his room. He leans on the closed door and waits, convinced his brother will come and try to talk again.

When Sam stays away, Dean thinks about the duffel that’s still in the kitchen and sighs. Which reminds him of the other duffel with the weapons that’s in the Impala’s trunk. Cleaning up guns and knives has always been something he liked to do. It’s the perfect task to just relax and stop thinking. He could use such an activity right now but that means he’d have to go to the garage. Meaning he may cross paths with Sam, or Eileen, or Jordan, or even Cas.

_Cas_ … 

The lack of guns to clean reminds him of the bottle of scotch he’s been keeping in his dresser. He goes to grab it and downs half of what’s left in huge gulps. That should help in keeping his mind clear of any Castiel-related thoughts. So when Dean starts to pray, it’s definitely despite himself. 

“Look, Castiel, man… I just want you to know that whatever you saw in Gabrielle’s mind, it doesn’t matter, all right? I didn’t wanna tell you because it’s stupid. You’re an angel and I’m just a horny idiot so don’t worry about it. No harm, no foul. Whattaya say?”

Dean opens a single eye and looks around to see he’s still alone. He brings the bottle to his lips and empties it before praying again.

“When we’re done with that stupid nephilim shit, I want you to just wipe that crap out, okay? But… you gotta come back, okay? Especially now that Gabrielle decided to hang out in your room. I wouldn’t let her get too comfortable in there, if you know what I mean. Also, Sam kinda has an way to find newborn nephilim. Just let me or Sam know that you’re not dead, okay?”

The wing flutter Dean has been hoping for doesn’t come. What comes instead is a text message.

_**From Castiel** : Talked to Sam. Investigating newborns already. I’m well._

Dean hates how the angel’s simple message makes him feel like he’s being filled with glitters and light. The sooner he gets rid of those stupid memories and feelings, the better it’ll be. 

For everyone.

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"That's why we don't have nice things, Sam!"_ – Dean Winchester, S08E20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello! Here’s the new chapter, and it’s HOT! (Hot as in just out of the oven, but also because it’s a little steamy… something y’all can appreciate, I’m sure!)
> 
> This being said, I’ve added new tags (again, I know!!!). And if you wanna take a look, I gotta warn you that it might give you an idea of what’s to come in this chapter. If you’re not worried about being triggered, I’d urge you not to look at them so you’ll still be surprised.
> 
> But, you do you, I don’t really mind either way 'cause, you know, I already know what’s happening! XD lolll I just want to make sure those who can’t handle some subjects will know that they’ll be brushed.
> 
> This one was harder to write for some reason… I got stuck for a couple of days but I’m glad to be done now (with this chapter, anyway).
> 
> As always, I’m open to your comments and love to read you all. Thank you all for reading and being there for our favorite characters while I make them go through hell… or heaven, depends on how I feel! :-P loll
> 
> Have a marvelous day, my lovelies. I’ll see you again soon! <3
> 
> .

“Look, Cas… I know that what you’re doing is important as hell, but you can’t stay away forever.”

Dean harrumphs, hating to have to pray to his friend because he won’t pick up his damn phone. “It’s been over a week and Sam tells me you haven’t been answering him either. I can’t believe there’s so many kids being born that you can’t even take a minute to fly by.”

As he’s been doing everyday for a week, Dean listens intently for the telling flutter of Castiel’s wings. As always, they don’t come and it’s pissing him off.

“You know what, Cas? Fuck you! Just, do that shit you do, stay the hell away if that’s you want… see if I care! Or, you know what? Just come and erase that crap your idiot brother made me see, all right? That’s all I’m asking. Do you hear me?”

“I can hear you just fine, Dean.”

Startled, Dean jumps off his bed and swivels around. Castiel is sitting on the bed, propped against the headboard.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“You know where I’ve been. I’m examining babies?”

“And you can’t take a break to come and see your pals between two births?”

“Dean… an average of ten thousand kids are born each day in this country alone. Which means I fly from hospital to hospital to inspect around ten thousand inner thighs every day. Now you explain to me how I would have time to do anything else.”

A little embarrassed now, Dean shrugs and comes closer to the bed. “I didn’t know… so… did you find any?”

“I did find one two days ago, in Texas. Branded the child’s ribs so she’ll be hidden from Heaven. Did the same for her parents too. The father had been invested with Hadraniel but she left a while ago. I tried to find her but she’s either dead or hiding from the Host.” He hands Dean a folded piece of paper. “All the family’s information is here… we should keep an eye on them.”

“Good… that’s good,” Dean says as he grabs the paper to slide it in his back pocket. He worries at his lower lip, desperate for something else to say before Cas can leave again. “Sam says there hasn’t been as much burnt families in the news lately.”

“Not even in other countries?”

“Nope… unless no one’s talking about it, that is.”

They stay silent for a while. Dean isn’t looking at Castiel but he feels the angel’s stare on him. “So… how do you wanna do this?”

“Do what?”

Dean points a couple of fingers at his head and makes a buzzing sound. “You know…”

“I’m not erasing your mind, Dean.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because I don’t want to.”

And if Dean had been on the verge of forgiving the angel for staying away, he now feels he’s more than entitled to be pissed about it. Or about anything, for that matter. “It’s my mind, Cas. I want that crap out. Now!”

“Never.”

When Dean’s fist hits Castiel’s face – he’s been doing that a lot lately – he’s surprised to see the angel’s head fly backwards. He frowns, then hits him again. Same result.

“Cut it out!” Dean yells. “Stop letting me hurt you.” He’s about to punch Castiel again when he spots the cut on the angel’s upper lip. “What the hell? You’re bleeding, Cas.”

The angel brings a hand to his mouth. “It appears that I am, yes. Does it make you feel any better?”

“Of course not, you moron. What’s wrong with you? You can’t be human or else you wouldn’t be flying around.”

“Indeed, I’m not human. Not really.” Castiel licks his lips, making the cut disappear. “But I’m not using my grace to dull out my humanity anymore.”

“Why would you do that?”

Castiel shrugs and pats the empty space next to him. “Because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to enjoy being with you as much.”

Dean turns around, twice, to make sure that he’s still where he’s supposed to be. Not that it’s reassuring; it wouldn’t be the first time he’s dreamt about being with Cas in his own room.

“I’m dreaming again, aren’t I?”

“No, you’re not.”

“Gabrielle! Cut it out!” Dean still yells, because of course dream Cas would deny it. “Stop messing with my damn mind!”

“Dean,” Castiel says in a soft voice as he gets off the bed. “I promise you, this is not a dream. This is me, coming to see you with all my senses tingling, eager to feel whatever you remember doing to me during those nine months.”

“But, Cas—”

“Please, Dean… unless those sentiments don’t exist anymore?”

It’s enough for Dean to dive down and crash his hungry mouth over Castiel’s. For the first time since coming back from the witch’s dream, everything feels real, genuine… palpable.

“Cas… shit, babe…” he moans, his hands already at work on taking off the angel’s clothes. When he finally gets his hands on Castiel’s skin, he knows for sure that it’s real. “You feel different, Cas…” he admits as he softly nips at the angel’s stubbled jaw.

“How different?”

But Dean doesn’t want to answer and instead pulls the blue tie over Castiel’s head. And as he slides the shirt off the angel’s body, Dean can’t take his eyes off the expanse of skin he’s uncovered.

“You’ve got a freckle here,” he says before kissing the skin near Cas’s nipple. “It wasn’t there in my dream. Same for that one over there,” he adds as he goes to kiss the dark spot near the angel’s hipbones, just under his warding tattoo.

“Are you convinced now? Do you believe that I’m real?”

“Fuck yeah,” Dean croaks, eager to see what truly awaits him in the angel’s trousers. He’s nervous, his hands trembling as he scrambles to get the pants off. “Please,” Dean begs as he gets on his knees, holding onto Castiel’s hips while the angel unfastens his belt.

Soon, the pants are pooling at Castiel’s feet, followed by the biggest pair of boxers Dean has ever seen. Which are ultimately forgotten when Dean is presented with the real deal. If dream Cas had a nice sized dick – very similar to his own he now realizes – it’s nothing compared to the real thing. Dean gulps, a little bit worried.

“What’s wrong?” Castiel asks, carding a soft hand in Dean’s hair.

The hunter clears his throat and takes a deep breath. “Nothing, babe… nothing. It’s all good.”

He licks his lips, eager to take the girthy dick in his mouth. He gives the head a tentative lick, making the angel shudder. 

“Dean…”

His eyes closed, Dean takes hold of Castiel’s half hard dick and wraps his mouth around it. He doesn’t go too far, having to get used to the new weight and taste. As he swirls his tongue around the head, he can’t help but being surprised by the musk. When he dreamt about giving Cas head, the taste had weirdly been reminiscent of a woman’s own. Which, in hindsight, should have been a clue that things weren’t right.

Although it’s different, there’s nothing to say that it’s bad. It’s actually fucking amazing. Before long, Dean’s fingers are plunging between Castiel’s ass cheeks, brushing against the rim. He blindly goes to grab some lube from his side table, only to realize that he doesn’t have any. He ran out a while ago and he still hasn’t bothered to buy more.

“Shit,” he says after letting Castiel go. “We need lube if we wanna do this, man.”

There seems to be a bit of confusion on the angel’s face, but only for half a second. He lets his head fall back and huffs. “There’s olive oil in the kitchen, if you must.”

It’s not like Dean has a degree in anal sex, so he honestly doesn’t know if that would work or not. Although he doesn’t see why it shouldn’t. Until he remembers the glitter incident and how getting rid of the olive oil off his hair and skin had been a hassle. Doesn’t matter that it didn’t happen for real, it just makes sense that this shit would be a nightmare to clean up.

“I don’t know… too messy I think. Maybe you could… you know…” Dean says, flapping his hands to make it as if he’s flying.

But Cas won’t have none of it and lets out a plaintive growl. “Just spit on your fingers then keep on sucking me. Please, Dean… the wait is unbearable.”

And yeah, that’s something Dean can totally understand. He obeys, coating a couple of fingers with spit before taking back Cas in his mouth. The angel’s breathy sighs make Dean’s whole skin tingle. When the hunter gently breaches Castiel’s puckered hole with his index finger, they moan in unison.

It’s so warm, and soft, and… alive. Dean regrets having kept his own clothes on, his cock now stirring against the zipper. Still, he’d rather keep working on Cas; who cares if he comes in his jeans again.

“You need to get naked, Dean,” Castiel says, wrecked and out of breath.

Dean lets him go with a pop and looks up. “Are you reading my mind?”

“Clothes!”

The angel’s urgent tone is enough for Dean to stop worrying and comply. He ignores the sound of ripping stitches as he pulls his t-shirt up, tripping on his jeans when he tries to jump out of them. He looses his footing and lands on the bed hard enough to make Cas almost roll off. Giggling, Dean catches Castiel just in time and pulls him against his body.

“Hi…” he says, their faces only a hair away.

“Hello, Dean,” the angel answers in a whiny voice.

“You okay, babe?”

Castiel lifts his head to look down at his own crotch. “You’re not done,” he murmurs with a frown.

“You’re right… I’m not…” Dean agrees, grabbing Castiel’s leaking erection to give it a couple of lazy strokes. “Touch me, Cas.”

When Castiel’s warm hand wraps around his dick, Dean silently congratulates himself to not have come on the spot. He’s close, but he’d rather enjoy the slender fingers on him a bit longer.

“I’m close,” Castiel murmurs against Dean’s lips, accelerating the pumping of his own hand. With the other, he grabs Dean’s free hand to suck on the digits and guide them to his ass. “Put it back.”

Dean gladly obeys, capturing the angel’s mouth as he pushes his finger in again. A couple of pumps and a brush on his prostate are enough for Castiel to come. He groans then hides his face in the crook of Dean’s neck, panting. His hand is loose and jerky on Dean’s dick, forcing Dean to wrap his own hand over the angel’s.

“Harder,” he murmurs, guiding Castiel’s movements.

It doesn’t take him long to follow Cas over the edge, coming in long ropes over both their bellies. His seed blends with Castiel’s and he drags a finger in their messes, mixing them up even more. Right now it’s warm and kind of soothing, but he knows it’ll soon turn crusty and gross.

Dean moves to grab his torn t-shirt from the floor and uses it to wipe them both clean. He throws the soiled garment near the door and lies back down next to Castiel.

“So…” he starts to say. He’s tempted to ask the angel how he’s feeling and all that crap, but he also finds the idea incredibly cheezy.

“It was marvelous,” Castiel still says because he must have read Dean’s mind again. And for once, he doesn’t have a problem with it.

“Yeah, it was,” is all Dean cares to answer as he wraps his body around Castiel’s and closes his eyes. He doesn’t fall asleep, too excited to be able to cuddle with his angel again.

“Is it like in your dream?” he hears Castiel say, his lips caressing the shell of Dean’s ear.

“Yeah, pretty much. Except we had lube in my dream… never ran out of the stuff.” And it makes him smile because that should also have been a clue about how unreal the whole thing was.

Still, there’s something nagging in the back of Dean’s mind. He has to ask.

“So… you say you’re not using your powers to dull out your feelings and stuff. But your grace is intact, right?”

“Of course… I just don’t waste it. If anything, it’ll only make my other abilities stronger.”

“I’d say that’s a good thing.”

“Indeed, it is,” Castiel says before brushing his lips over Dean’s, making him hum and kiss back. “You look tired, I should let you sleep,” he says as he starts moving away.

“Please stay…” Dean kind of whines as he tries to pull the angel back next to him. “I won’t sleep for long… a couple of hours, tops. A tiny nap.”

Castiel grabs Dean’s hand to kiss his knuckles. “I can visit a lot of hospitals in a couple of hours, Dean. We may still have babies to save, remember?”

Dean sighs but still bring the angel’s palm to his mouth to kiss it before letting him go. “All right, you go. But you’ll be back, right? No staying away for days this time?”

Already dressed again, Castiel squints at his lover.

“Just you try and keep me away.”

~ • ~

“Dean!”

If there’s one thing Dean knows, it’s that his brother screaming his name is never something good. All thoughts of Castiel being in his bed evaporate as adrenaline pumps through his body. All that matters now is getting to his brother. He grabs his jeans and puts them on – no time for underwear – and fastens them as he runs to the main area of the bunker.

“Sam!” he too yells when he gets closer to the library, his trusty Colt drawn high.

His running comes to a screeching halt when he sees two strangers standing in the war room. They’re brandishing angel swords and look right about to attack. They both glance at Dean but only for a second, much more interested in Gabrielle who also has her own sword held high. Standing behind Gabrielle are Sam and Eileen with their own (ineffective) weapons, bent on protecting Jordan and her child.

“Move away,” the female angel says to the group. “This does not concern you.”

“Like hell, it doesn’t concern me,” Gabrielle spits, taking a step forward. “It’s my son you’re attempting to murder. An innocent child!”

“He’s an abomination,” the male angel counters, him too taking a step forward.

As he looks at the scene unfolding, Dean sends out a prayer to Castiel, urging him to come back. _“Cas! Two angels are here to kill Micah! Come back!”_ He only hopes the angel will have understood that he can’t appear in the middle of the room and ruin the only advantage he might have: The surprise.

“How did you find us,” Dean then says, hoping to make some time. The lady angel turns to him, an over satisfied expression on her face.

“Your brother should have made his girlfriend ward herself against us,” is all she answers before turning back to Gabrielle. “You’re a disgrace, Gabriel. Of all of us, you know best how nephilim ruined everything once. You were right there in the middle of it.”

“Yes, I was. And that’s why I did it, Haniel. We needed Father to come back.”

Haniel takes a step forward to join her partner. “And He came back. We don’t need the nephilim anymore, not that we ever did anyway. They must die!”

“Not this one!”

_“Dean! Don’t turn around.”_

The hunter is startled by Castiel’s voice. He tries to glance over both his shoulders and frowns when he doesn’t see the angel in his peripheral view.

_“I’m not here, Dean. Even if I were invisible to you, Haniel and Kushiel would see me so I have no choice but to communicate with you through thoughts.”_

_“And you can hear me too if I… huh… think at you?”_ Dean asks, never looking away from the angels.

_“It’s like a prayer, so yes. Do you have your angel blade?”_

_“I left it in my room.”_

_“I’ll grab it for you, be prepared to catch it when I fly in.”_

Dean almost nods but catches himself on time. _“Hurry… I think Gabrielle’s right about to attack and I don’t think she can take them both down.”_

_“Soon… be prepared.”_

And Dean does just that, his mind and body on alert. He’d love to be able to catch Gabrielle’s gaze and make her understand she has to wait a bit more. Instead, he decides to try and send her a prayer.

_“Gabrielle! Wait before doing anything. Cas is coming.”_

There’s no way for Dean to know that Gabrielle heard him. If she did, she’s not showing it. It’s Kushiel who glances at Dean, a crooked smile on his face. “Gabriel can’t hear you, Dean. We’ve severed his ties to the Host. Thanks for the heads up, though,” he says as he lunges forward to stab Gabrielle. She’s able to move away, but not far enough; the blade gets buried in her shoulder.

They know it won’t do a bit of good, but Dean and Sam start shooting at the angels while Eileen tries to steer Jordan and her child away. They’ve just entered the library when Haniel appears next to them and shoves her glowing palm over Eileen’s face. She collapses, her eyes burnt to a crisp.

“No!” Sam yells as he turns to shoot at the angel, his gun now clicking empty.

Dean’s gun isn’t doing any better and he can only watch as Kushiel sneaks behind his brother. “Sam!” he yells to warn him, but it’s too late; Kushiel’s weapon is already plunging between Sam’s shoulder blades.

He wants to run to his brother when a blinding light explodes, forcing him to stop and hide in the crook of his elbow. “Sam!” he yells again, praying for his brother to not be dead and answer him already. But all that can be heard is Micah’s crying and the acute hiss of an angel dying.

Then silence drops heavy onto the room.

“You can open you eyes,” he hears Castiel say.

The hunter complies to see Cas kneeling next to his brother. Kushiel’s body is lying on the other side of him, the traces of his wings singed onto the wall and floor.

“Sam’s not dead, is he?”

“Not for long,” the angel says, laying his hands on Sam. It takes about twenty seconds for Sam to spring to life again, coughing and wheezing. He looks up at Castiel, a pleading look on his face. “Eileen,” he says under his breath.

Castiel nods and goes to kneel next to Eileen and Jordan, both of them crooked on the floor with their eyes burnt out. He first lays a hand on Eileen’s forehead and closes his eyes. It takes a little bit longer for the huntress to come back among the living. As soon as she does, Sam crawls to come and grab her in a bone crushing hug, kissing her desperately.

“Where’s Micah?” Dean asks as Castiel puts a hand on Jordan. “She had him in her arms.”

Castiel answers, his eyes still closed as he works on bringing Jordan back. “I’m afraid he’s been taken.”

“What?”

“Haniel had time to flee with Micah. I couldn’t stop her.”

Trying not to panic, not yet, Dean looks around to find Gabrielle sitting near the entryway. She’s hiding her face in her folded knees.

“Hey, Gabe! You okay?” he asks, taking a couple of steps toward the archangel. The closer he gets, the more he knows something’s wrong. “Gabrielle?” He then remembers Gabrielle has been stabbed by Kushiel. As he gets closer, he can see the bloody gash and how Gabrielle is trembling. 

Angels don’t tremble in fear.

“Jasmine?” he then says as he kneels near the girl. It’s all it takes for her to finally look up and land her liquid stare on him. “Where’s Gabrielle?” he asks in a soft voice, not wanting to scare her more than she already is.

She shrugs, the tears already staining her cheeks. “When—it all happened so fast,” she says in a trembling voice. “There was that big white light and then he said I was free again. He left.”

“That son of a bitch!” Dean says under his breath. “Fucking coward!”

The young nun puts a hand on his shoulder and gives him a pointed, yet gentle look. “No, he’s not. He saved me in leaving, Dean. Said he would have been permanently stuck in my body if he lost his grace. He wanted me to have my life back.”

Jasmine’s plea doesn’t make Dean less angry but the gaping wound on her shoulder forces him to let it go for now. “Cas!” he calls, turning around to find the angel holding Jordan in his arms. “Cas, you think you can come and heal Jasmine? She’s really hurt.”

Even from the distance, Dean can see the sorrow in Castiel’s eyes. He’s holding onto Jordan in a very peculiar fashion too. She looks like she doesn’t have a single bone left in her—

“Cas? Is everything okay?”

The angel licks his lips and shakes his head, flexing his fingers before laying his hand over Jordan’s forehead. When Castiel looks at Dean again, there are unshed tears in his eyes. “I can’t summon my healing powers, Dean… it’s like…” He turns to look at Sam and Eileen with a confused frown. “I can’t say if I used them too much or if I’m being denied access to them.”

Dean gulps, refusing to believe what he’s hearing. “Okay… so we just wait a bit until you’re recharged, yeah? Then you can bring Jordan back and heal Jasmine?”

“Maybe, but it doesn’t really make sense… and if that’s what this is, we certainly can’t wait too long. There’s a time limit on these things, you know.”

“Bullshit, Cas! You brought me back after four months. I was in hell and you pulled me out.”

Castiel sighs as he softly lies Jordan’s body back onto the floor. “This was a special occurrence, Dean. The powers I used to bring you back came from higher up in the chain. It was a joint effort.”

“Then call Gabrielle! Tell her to bring her ass down here right this minute.” 

Except Dean doesn’t wait and gets up to start yelling at the heavens… or at the closest thing, the ceiling. “Gabrielle, I pray to you so you’ll bring you dumbass self back here. Cas is out of juice and we need you to bring back Jordan and heal Jasmine. Now, Gabrielle!”

He turns to Castiel again, remembering what Kushiel had said. “She can’t hear us anymore, can she?”

“I’m afraid not. But I’m confident that she’ll find her way back. She knows where we are.”

It’s Sam who speaks next, not kissing Eileen anymore but still holding her in a protective embrace. “Could Gabrielle be dead? Like… she didn’t have much powers left, did she?”

“I think that we would have seen traces of her burnt wings, although they would have looked more like twigs at this point,” Castiel says. “She’s probably floating around in the ether, hiding. I should go have a look to try and find her.”

“So you can still fly, then?” Dean asks, relieved. He’d been worried his dream was coming true after all. 

It takes almost a minute for Castiel to answer again.

“It appears that I can’t. I still have my wings and they’re intact, but… I don’t have access to the ether for some reason.” There’s a bit of fear in Castiel’s eyes when he looks back at Dean. “I can’t access the Host, Dean. I’m afraid I’ve been cut off.”

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If the Winchester hadn’t had enough of angels already, now they have! If only that changed anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gotta say, I kinda cracked myself up with that one… and then I made myself cry (not really, but I got real close). The initial situation, I just find it hilarious for some reason… maybe because it’s actually awkward (and I get how it might not be funny at all to some of you… sorry for the cringe if that’s the case)
> 
> This being said, I hope you’ll like this next chapter. Not much sexy stuff but lots of feels… you like that too, don’t you? I know I do.
> 
> I already can’t wait to publish the next chapter (not that it’s written or anything… not entirely anyway). I hope to see you again next time, my lovelies! Be safe out there! <3
> 
> .

“Time to wake up, Sammy!”

As he emerges from sleep, Sam relishes in the familiar weight and warmth of Eileen straddling him. A lazy smile tugs at his lips as he puts his hands on her thighs and wiggles his hips, intended on giving his morning wood some well needed friction. Now that’s some nice way to wake up.

“That’s some tool you got there, Sammy-Boy!”

This time, Sam feels like he’s suddenly being submerged in ice cold water at the sound of the unknown voice. He sits up, making whoever’s sitting on his lap fall backward.

“What the hell,” he yelps as he scoots back until he hits the headboard. His sleep addled mind can’t compute how the girl in his bed and the voice could belong together.

“Hey now, hold your horses, Sammy! You wouldn’t wanna hurt your girlfriend now, would you?”

Some part of Sam would like to appreciate hearing Eileen’s actual voice, but he can’t bring himself to; it just feels… wrong. It doesn’t take him very long to understand.

“Gabrielle?”

The archangel, clad in Eileen’s naked body, smiles and gets on her hands and knees. She crawls toward Sam who wants to cower back some more but he’s as far as he can ever get. 

“I kinda wish it would have taken you longer to guess.” Eileen’s possessed hand on his thigh makes Sam twitch. “We were only starting to have fun.”

As if it popped out of nowhere, Sam is pointing an angel blade at his girlfriend’s throat. Still, there’s no trace of shock on Gabrielle’s (Eileen’s) face.

“Come on, Sammy! You and I both know you won’t hurt your girl.”

“Get out of her!”

Gabrielle gently pushes the blade aside and gets off the bed to start putting on clothes. “I will… all in due time. First, I have to try and bring Jordan back. I’ve been cut off the Host, but I’m still an archangel… I may have enough power left in me to do this.”

“Then, take me. Let Eileen go,” Sam pleads, unable to tear his eyes from the borrowed body. “What did you tell her? Promised you’d heal her hearing or something?”

“She felt so guilty that she’d been saved over Jordan that she prayed to me, begging that I use her. And just so you know, I had to promise that I wouldn’t change a thing about her… not permanently anyway. She doesn’t consider that she needs to be healed, in case that’s something you’re expecting me to do.”

“Of course not, I don’t care about that… but how did you know that she wouldn’t explode when you possessed her?”

Buttoning up the last of her shirt, Gabrielle turns to face Sam again. “I didn’t… not really. Let’s just say I had a strong hunch.” She sighs and shakes her head. “Don’t look at me like that, Sammy. She’s doing fine, ain’t she?” 

Gabrielle walks to the bed to grab Sam’s face in her hands, using enough of her grace so he can’t move away. She leans down and kisses him soundly on the mouth. “I won’t be able to wear her for long, so what do you say we go see Jordan? And if we’re lucky, I’ll be able to heal Jasmine too.”

Flushed from both embarrassment and anger, Sam evades Gabrielle’s hold to get off the bed. He holds the sheet around his waist, giving the archangel a pointed look and motioning for her to turn around. Gabrielle obeys, not without giving the hunter an exaggerated eyeroll and huff.

“You’re so lame… you’ve been ogling me while I got dressed. Why can’t I get an eyeful?”

Sam doesn’t answer, putting his clothes on as fast as he can. The second he’s ready, he grabs Gabrielle by the arm to guide her outside the room.

“Hey! Be careful, gigantor! Unless you want me to waste my powers in healing the arm you’re about to break.”

Again, Sam doesn’t say a single word but he still loosens his grip on Eileen. They quickly make their way toward the infirmary where Jordan’s body has been brought. Going through the kitchen to reach it means that they get to be seen by the others, already up and having breakfast.

“Well, well, well… if it isn’t the two lovebirds,” Dean mocks when Sam and Eileen dash through the kitchen. Except the hurry and the look on his brother’s face are enough for Dean to be alarmed. “What’s wrong?” he asks, getting up.

“Later,” is all Sam says without stopping.

There’s no way that can be a satisfying answer for Dean. He follows Sam and Eileen, signaling to Castiel that he should come too. When they reach the infirmary, the sheet has been dragged off Jordan’s face and Eileen already has her hands hovering over the body. The faint glow emanating from her palms is enough for both Cas and Dean to understand.

“Gabe?”

It’s Sam who confirms with a nod, worrying at his lower lip as he keeps an eye on his girlfriend’s face. He needs to make sure that she won’t start burning up like Lucifer’s first vessel had. For now, Eileen looks just as rosy and fresh as usual… and a bit sweaty, maybe.

“What’s taking so long?” Dean asks, also worried for Eileen’s fate.

Castiel makes sure to speak into Dean’s ear. “Gabriel’s grace is very weak. I’m worried he might run out while possessing Eileen. And if that happens…”

Castiel’s unfinished thought hangs heavy between them, making Dean shudder. “He has to stop trying, then. We’ll find another—”

“I can hear you, boys,” Gabrielle says without looking at them, but she does glance at Sam. “Unless you wanna try and invite Lucifer in, I don’t think you have a chance in hell of saving your friend if I leave.”

And of course, everyone in the room knows that is not a viable option.

“I found Hadraniel’s child a couple of days ago. We could try to summon her, letting her use my body so she can bring back Jordan.”

“Out of the question,” Dean says under his breath. “You’ve given enough of yourself already.”

“But, Dean—”

“I said no!”

And just like that, the room’s atmosphere turns glacial – not that it had been warm and fuzzy before. Castiel turns to face Dean, locking his fiery gaze onto his; it’s not lust that’s making his eyes dark this time around.

“I don’t know what makes you think that you can order me around, Dean. I think that saving Micah’s mother’s life is imperative. What happens to me should be secondary.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t agree with that.” Dean lowers his voice as he goes on. “I can’t keep losing you, Cas. Remember how you wouldn’t kick Lucifer out? Because I do… don’t make me go through this shit again.”

“This has nothing to do with Lucifer, I promise. I have no intention of leaving you… not ever.”

“Could you dimwits temper with the drama a bit? It’s making it kinda hard to concentrate.”

When they turn back to Eileen, they’re relieved to see the burning of Jordan’s eyes to be almost gone. The skin is still red and scaly, but she has eyes again. She has yet to start breathing, which may be why everyone’s holding their breath.

The already faint healing light starts dwindling and flickering, making Sam suck in a shaky breath.

“Gabrielle! Stop, please!”

“I’m almost there.”

“We’ll find you another body, or use me. I don’t care, all right?”

Dean is ready to voice his indignation again when Gabrielle’s hands start shaking and it quickly escalates to her whole body. She turns to Sam, apologetic. “I’m so sorry,” she breathes right before exiting Eileen’s body. 

Sam has the mind to grab onto Eileen before she collapses. As she leans on her boyfriend’s strong body, she looks at Jordan to find her still lifeless. She turns a watery gaze onto Sam and mouths “I’m sorry” before hiding her face in Sam’s chest to start crying.

As he tries to comfort Eileen, Sam gives Dean and Castiel a morose look. Micah may have lost his mother after all.

“Maybe we could ask Chuck to save her,” Dean says although he knows it’s a stupid idea.

“I don’t think he feels that invested in what happens down here, quite frankly,” Castiel answers, taking Dean’s hand and giving it a sympathetic squeeze, if not a warning one. “I prayed to Hadraniel,” he then says, brushing his thumb over Dean’s hand in the hopes it’ll prevent him from overreacting.

He’s visibly tensed, but Dean’s features are impassive when he answers, his eyes never leaving Jordan’s inanimate body. “Thought you didn’t have access to the Host.”

“I don’t… it works the same way it does when you’d pray to me. You don’t have access to the Host either.”

“I guess.”

Dean takes his hand back to rub at the back of his neck and sighs. “I think I’m gonna go for a food run or something…” he says before leaving the room. He doesn’t even bother answering when Castiel asks if he should come along.

“That was a pretty dumb move, Cas.”

The angel turns to Sam who still has his arms around a calmer Eileen. “What? Trying to save our friend?”

“Tell me of one occasion where it’s been a good idea to let an angel in. Just one!”

“I’d like to think that Jimmy letting me in was a good idea in the long run.”

The huff Sam lets out is bitter, at best. “Yeah… not sure Claire or her mom would agree with that. Even Jimmy himself was glad to be done with you before you decided that using his daughter was the way to go.”

“Sam… you know things were different back then. I was different.”

“That’s easy to say now. Angel possession is crap, however you wanna look at it. If Hadraniel answers back, just say you changed your mind, all right? Jordan’s gone, we should just let her rest in peace!”

Castiel doesn’t have time to answer that Sam walks out, pulling Eileen behind him. Not that he would have known what to say other than reiterate that he’s not ready to give up yet. Left alone in the infirmary, Castiel goes to stand next to Jordan’s body. He puts a hand on her forehead, trying to will his grace to work again, but it doesn’t. His human hand is soft when he brushes her hair off her forehead.

“I’m so sorry, Jordan,” Castiel murmurs, taking her hand in his other one. She’s cold and stiff, making his own skin pepper with goosebumps and his eyes prickle with tears. “I should have branded you and Micah and leave you be. Bringing you here was a grave mistake.”

“That’s not on you alone, Cas.”

Dean’s voice startles Castiel who looks up to see the hunter standing in the doorway.

“I thought you had gone to the store.”

“It can wait.” Dean walks in to face Castiel on the other side of the examination table, but keeps his eyes on Jordan. “I think there’s more pressing matters right now.”

“Like what?”

Dean shrugs, still evading Castiel’s gaze. “We’ll have to talk about Micah. In my dream, we kind of became his de facto parents, until we found another solution that is. I think we would have kept him in the end, with this being a dream and all… except this is reality and kids are complicated.”

“I don’t see why it should be any different. Micah’s a good baby, Dean.”

That seems enough to make Dean finally look up at Castiel. “Yeah, he’s awesome… babies are easy compared to what’s coming. What about school? Me or Sam can’t risk being in the system in any way. Well, we’re already in there and we wouldn’t want them to catch our scent again, you know? And you, you pretty much don’t exist.”

“Will he have to go to school?”

“It kinda is the law.”

Although there’s nothing funny about the conversation, Castiel can’t hold an amused huff. “Because you and your brother are so eager to follow the law.”

“You know what I mean.”

Castiel indeed knows what Dean means, but he has ideas of his own. “Then we won’t send him to school. I’ll teach him everything he needs to know.”

“Good… great idea there. Let’s breed ourselves an antisocial weirdo. Kids need friends, Cas. They need to play, they need roots… and mostly, they need fitted parents.”

The trembling in Dean’s voice is enough for Cas to walk around the table to come and take him in his arms. The hunter huffs but doesn’t move away, keeping his arms limp on his sides.

“What you’re saying is that kids need all those things you didn’t have?”

“I had friends… I went to school and I socialized plenty.”

“Until your dad made you move and you had to do it all over again. You seem to forget that I know pretty much everything about you, Dean.”

“Yeah… kinda makes me wonder how you could ever want me if you know me as well as you say.”

Castiel’s soft head tilt makes Dean’s heart flutter. He licks his lips, his eyes dipping to Castiel’s fleshy pink mouth. As the angel speaks, Dean can’t take his eyes away, growing hungrier by the second.

“Because even with everything that you’ve been through, you’re still a marvelous and kind hearted man. I know you refuse to see it, but that’s the main reason I’m here. To remind you how magnificent and righteous you are. And I intend on doing this as long as I’m able to.”

No matter how wrong Dean thinks Cas is, it doesn’t deter him from capturing the angel’s lips with his, wrapping his arms around him. Otherwise he probably would have had to answer something and he doesn’t want to. What he’d really like to do is start believing Castiel’s words.

Leaning back a bit, Castiel grabs Dean’s face to lock their eyes together. “I’ll work very hard for you to believe me, Dean,” is all he says, making Dean frown.

“You can still read my mind?”

A soft smile appears on Castiel’s face. “I don’t need to, Dean. I told you already… I know you.” He gives the other man a chaste kiss before glancing at Jordan. “I think we should take this elsewhere, don’t you think?”

Dean nods as he pulls the sheet back up over Jordan’s healed face. “She deserves a hunter’s funeral, don’t you think?”

“If I can’t get Hadraniel to come and heal her, then yes, we’ll do as you wish… let’s at least wait a day. Will you do that for me?”

Although he doesn’t respond, Dean’s pinched lips are enough for Castiel to know he’ll never be okay with the idea. If only it could be enough for Cas to reconsider.

~ • ~

Jasmine is still sitting in the kitchen when Dean and Castiel come back.

“What’s going on?” she asks when she notices the gloom on their faces. “Tried to ask Sam and Eileen but they just walked past me without answering.”

While Dean goes to grab the coffee carafe, Castiel sits at the table. “Gabrielle took possession of Eileen’s body and tried to save Jordan.”

“Tried?”

“Yeah… he wasn’t strong enough,” Dean answers as he refills everyone’s cup. “At least he flew out before getting stuck in her forever.”

“Why didn’t he come and see me? I would have welcomed him again,” Jasmine says with a frown. “He knows this.”

“The fact that you’re injured would have made it even harder to bring Jordan back.”

Understanding washes over Jasmine’s face and she nods.

“How’s that doing, by the way?” Dean asks. “It doesn’t hurt too much?”

“I’m all right. My wound should be the least of everyone’s problem right now.” Her searching eyes travels between Dean and Castiel. “Are you going to look for Micah at all?”

The hunter and angel glance at one another. They had discussed this already but hadn’t reached a definite conclusion.

“We want to, but there’s no way for us to know where he’s at,” Dean answers. “For all we know, he’s not even alive anymore.”

“How can angels do this? How can they kill people the way they do? Children…”

This time, it’s a bashful Castiel who answers. “You have to understand, Jasmine… angels are not what humans have depicted. We’re warriors, first and foremost. Nothing to do with those fluttery things you envisioned. Most of all, we weren’t built to be loving and compassionate.”

“But you were ordered by God to love humans above all else, weren’t you? Even Him?”

“We were, although I’d say it’s a different type of love. Until God disappeared and… that mission became secondary. Not for all, but most. Some still believe that humans are to be protected and cherished.”

Jasmine can’t hold her tears anymore. “What am I supposed to do now?” she asks, although she doesn’t wait for an answer. “I can’t go back to the monastery knowing what I know now. There’s no way I can keep worshipping a God that doesn’t care about us.”

“He cares, Jasmine… just not as actively as you’d hope.”

She glares at Castiel then shakes her head. “I belong nowhere. My faith is wrong, just as my heart and body crave the wrong sex.”

“Homosexuality isn’t wrong, Jasmine,” Dean says. He points his thumb to Castiel with a crooked smile. “See this guy? Angel… and we’re… hmm… kinda together… two guys.”

“Dean, you know angels aren’t feminine nor masculine.”

“Well, that body you’re wearing is a dude. As I am. So, you know… that’s called gay. Even if that’s not all I am,” he feels the need to precise. Still, he keeps to himself how banging a dude certainly hasn’t made his love of the ladies vanish. He just doesn’t need them right now.

Jasmine is shaking her head again, a purse in her lips. “I know what you’re saying, Dean. But I have a family to answer to. I’ll never be welcomed again if I choose to embrace this lifestyle.”

“If that’s the case, then they don’t love you,” Dean says. “You may want to let yourself be happy for once. You know for a fact life’s short.”

“See who’s talking!”

Everyone turns to see Sam entering the kitchen again, except he’s alone this time. And he looks even more tired and cranky than before.

“Is Eileen okay? Are you okay?”

Sam fills himself a cup of coffee and comes to sit at the table before answering his brother.

“Eileen’s leaving.”

“Why? What happened? It’s not safe out there, Sammy.”

Scowling at his brother, Sam shakes his head. “It’s not safer in here, Dean. You get that, right? She’ll be better far away from this place… far away from me.” He turns to Jasmine, his expression still as bitter. “You should do the same… just leave this place and never look back.” He points to her wounded shoulder. “You were lucky. If you stay, you might not survive another week.”

“I have nowhere else to go,” Jasmine replies, frowning. “I can’t go back home, not yet. And like I was telling your brother, I can’t—”

“Believe me, anywhere in the world is better than here,” Sam spits before getting up. He stomps back out, leaving his coffee to cool and everyone to be confused.

A minute later, it’s Eileen who’s entering the room with her bag flung over her shoulder. She drops it on the floor to join the others. She doesn’t sit as she starts to sign how Sam’s being a dick and is pissed at her for letting Gabriel in. And how he’s told her to leave and never come back.

Castiel is translating out loud, mostly for Jasmine’s benefit. When Dean starts responding, he does both simultaneously.

“Sam is just scared that you’ll die too. He’s not wrong but don’t give up on him. When things settle down, he’ll just reach out to you again. I know it.”

_“I don’t need to be sheltered, I can protect myself,”_ she signs while Castiel translates again. _“I won’t be coming back. He’s lost his chance.”_ Her gestures are jerky and rough.

Dean nods, understanding. “Then stay,” he responds, his own hands moving in a smoother manner, hoping it’ll help calm her down. “If you wanna stay, confront him and tell him you refuse to go. He’s only doing this because he thinks he’s cursed.”

_“Why would I stay with someone who doesn’t want me?”_

“You know he wants you… he’s just a dumb kid sometimes. You can take… hmm… you can take Jordan’s room.”

_“And then what? It won’t make things better with Sam if I stay.”_

“I know the guy… he got scared earlier and now he’s lashing out. But I swear he’ll regret kicking you out before the end of the day and he’ll just try and find you again.”

Eileen squints at Dean, debating if she should believe him or not. When she signs again, her hands have lost of some of their edge. _“I can give him a couple of days to stop being an ass, but I’m not a patient girl. You better make sure he knows that.”_

Grabbing her bag from the floor, Eileen turns away to go back toward the rooms. Before anyone starts talking again, Dean grabs his phone and points to Jasmine. “Now, you!” he only says before getting up to leave the room.

With his coffee cup in hand, he goes to the library while listening to the ringing tone in his ear.

“Hey, Winchester! What’s up!”

Charlie’s voice is like a breath of fresh air and Dean smiles despite himself.

“Bunch of crap is happening, as usual! How you doin’?”

“All’s good… what can I help you with?”

Dean chuckles, not surprised to see his friend get right to the point.

“Hmm… you’re not hunting anymore, are you?”

“Well… a little bit, maybe.” Dean can tell Charlie’s downplaying her hunting but she’s one of the worst liars he’s ever known. When she tries lying to him, that is.

“Look, I got a girl here… a nun actually. She was possessed by an angel and now she kinda has nowhere to go.”

“Why me?”

“She’s gay?”

“What are you, my pimp? Why don’t you keep her?”

Dean remembers that Charlie doesn’t know everything that’s been going on. “We’re right in the middle of a big thing, Charlie. She better not stay here, it’s dangerous. And don’t worry, I’m not saying you should hook up with the girl. It’s just… she became a nun because she didn’t wanna bring shame to her parents or something.”

“And you think I can coach her into gayness?”

“That’s a bit crude, but yeah, maybe… she has yet to accept that part of herself. She now knows how God doesn’t care one bit, but… she loves her family and apparently, they’re dicks.”

Charlie sighs in the phone, but when she speaks she’s her peppy self again. “Why not! I’m about ten hours away from the bunker. Can I come pick her up tomorrow?”

“That’d be perfect, Charlie. Thanks so much. I’ll owe you one.”

“No worries! Us sisters have to stick together. Anything else I can do for you guys? Did my little baby-finding program help?”

“Kinda, yeah. But Cas lost his mojo and he can’t fly around anymore. And Micah’s been kidnapped. He’s our number one priority right now.”

“Micah? Shit, that’s the angel kid, right?”

“The nephal, yeah. I’ll fill you in when I see you tomorrow, all right?”

“Okay. See you guys tomorrow.”

_“Well, that was nice of you, Dean-O!”_

The sudden masculine voice startles Dean, making him drop the phone on the table; he’s heard it before. He looks around, deflated to see that he’s still alone, which means the voice has to be in his head.

“Gabriel?”

_“You’re getting better at this. And yeah, it’s me.”_

“Where are you?”

_“In the ether, trying to heal myself. It’d be much faster I could enter Heaven undetected, you know?”_

“What do you want?”

_“So, we’re not being friendly? All right! Tell Castiel Hadraniel’s not gonna make it. She’s dead, or so I assume.”_

“Why don’t you tell him yourself?”

_“Because you’re the only one I can speak to without my grace depleting, numbnuts. That elixir was strong as shit.”_

“Is that all?”

_“I really don’t get what Castiel sees in you. You’re a savage brute.”_

“Right back at ya! Now leave me alone.”

Dean looks around the room again, hating the feeling of talking to someone who isn’t there. And yeah, he’s still alone, which is quite the relief actually. For some reason, he feels the need to not let the conversation end the way it did.

“Look, Gabe… thanks for trying to save Jordan, all right? You didn’t have to.”

It takes a while, but the archangel’s answer comes back, the tone feeling softer than it’s ever been. _“Yeah, I had to. I kinda liked her, you know. She was a good woman.”_

“Yeah, she was… hmm… so, you say you and I are still connected. What about Micah? Can you still feel him?”

_“He’s alive, if that’s what you’re asking. I just can’t pinpoint his location.”_

“Do you think he could have been brought to Heaven?”

_“No… nephilim can’t enter Heaven, not even when they die. He has to be somewhere on Earth.”_

Dean’s heart starts racing at the news; means there’s still hope to find the kid.

“If he’s down here, then we’ll find him.”

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another spell, another wild goose chase… why not have a little sex?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story just keeps on going!! Stuff happens and then our favorite guys make decisions (not always good ones). I really gotta focus on the prize here, otherwise we’re talking about a never ending story! Which would suck… not only for me, but for you too.
> 
> Not to worry, the end is nigh (if you consider 5 or 6 chapters to be nigh). I do see the end from where I stand… all we gotta do now is get to it. 
> 
> Now grab onto hand(s) and follow me… it may be a bumpy road after all!
> 
> (A sexy bumpy road… 'cause you like that).
> 
>  
> 
> See you soon, my lovelies… Thank you for all for your kudos and messages, they really warm the cockles of my heart! <3  
> (Yeah, I did that on purpose… just because I can! lol)
> 
> .

“No way, Dean… we can’t call her, not again.”

“She’s the only one we know who can help, Sam.” Dean sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Look, it’s her or Crowley. And Crowley won’t help if there’s nothing in it for him.”

“Because you think Rowena’s gonna help us out of the kindness of her heart? I’ve been there before, Dean. I’m already indebted to her.”

Castiel, who usually knows better than to try getting in between the brothers, still can’t hold his tongue. “Look, Sam… we get it, but we don’t have any other way to find Micah. I’m powerless, Gabriel’s stuck in the ether, and we have no angel allies anymore. Rowena’s our last resort.”

Sam doesn’t even try to stifle the disdain from his expression. “I think I’d rather call on Crowley himself.”

“And what? Make a deal so he’ll fetch the kid and then you get sent back to hell in ten years? Or one year, like they did me? And anyway, I’m pretty sure he’ll keep Micah for himself the moment he learns where he came from. Remember how he tried that shit with Amara?”

Sam huffs, brushing the hair off his face. “I know… but Rowena? She’s not any better than her son.” He chews at his lower lip, a concentrated frown on his face. “If we gotta see her, then it can’t be here,” he adds after mulling over their options.

“Of course not, Sam… I’m not stupid. We’ll go meet her and—”

“She should be able to give us a locating spell without us ever being near her,” Castiel says, not eager to be seeing the witch anytime soon. Especially not now that he’s virtually powerless.

“Fine!” Dean says as he grabs his phone to call the witch. It takes her a while to answer, which is enough to exasperate the hunter even more than he already is.

“Oh dear… I’m popular with all the boys, aren’t I?” she says as she answers, not hiding the mirth in her voice.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Rowena. I just need a locating spell.”

“What do you think I am? Your bloody maid? Locating spells are plenty, you don’t need me.”

“If I knew how to find what I’m looking for, d’you think I’d ask you?”

It takes a little while for Rowena to answer back, as if she’d been debating her options.

“And why would I help you? I already have your brother in my back pocket.”

Dean barely holds a grunt at the words. “Yeah, but you don’t got me, sweetheart. Whatever deal you made with Sam, it doesn’t mean shit to me.” As he says this, he sends a somewhat apologetic look to his brother; of course he’s lying, but he hopes the witch doesn’t know that.

“So… what you mean to say is that if I help you, you’ll let Sam honor his debt when I call. Is that it?”

“Pretty much.”

“Oh, all right… what is it you need to find?”

“Not a what… a who. I need to find a baby.”

Rowena’s cristalline laugh makes Dean huff; it’s not that funny.

“A baby? You mean to tell me that two hunters and an angel have been had by a sodding baby? Is it magical or something?”

“He’s been kidnapped and we have no way to find him. It’s an angel that took him, which means they could be anywhere in the world… and they’re probably warded.”

“What makes you think that I can find a warded angel, of all things? Do you know how powerful these things are?”

“Oh, I know… but you were able to get rid of the mark on my arm. I’d say you’re pretty powerful yourself.”

When she speaks again, there’s a hint of pride tainting Rowena’s voice. “That’s nice of you to acknowledge,” she says. “Still waiting for that gift basket, by the way.”

“Don’t push your luck! Can you help us find the kid or not?”

“I may be a powerful witch, I can’t make things appear out of thin air.” She laughs again. “Okay, I totally can, but what you’re asking for requires some specific ingredients.”

With a relieved sigh, Dean sits back at the table and put the phone down, pressing on the speaker icon. “Tell me what we need,” he says, grabbing a pen and paper.

“First off, you’ll need anything organic from the child. A lock of hair, a nail clipping, a tooth… got any of those?”

“We might still have his last diaper,” Castiel offers, making both hunters purse their lips. And if the gagging sound coming from the phone is anything to go by, Rowena’s just as disgusted by the thought.

“Fecal matter won’t work, angel,” she says. “I would assume that you don’t have any of his blood either?”

The three men look at each other, all thinking the same thing. It’s Dean who dares voicing the question.

“Does it have to be his own blood? Like… would his mother’s blood work?”

“I’d say it’s the next best thing, yes. To be sure, we’ll just add some artemisia vulgaris to the mix. How many children does the woman have?”

“Just that one. And… speak English, would you? What’s that latin crap you need?”

“Artemisia vulgaris, or mugwort. It’s rather common, you should be able to find some in your own backyard. The angel might know what it looks like, yes?”

Nobody answers because Rowena continues listing the ingredients and explain the ritual. While Castiel leaves the bunker to try and find some mugwort, Sam takes it upon himself to fetch the blood. 

Jordan is still in the infirmary, a sheet covering her body. The smell of death is still faint, but Sam hides his mouth and nose in his t-shirt anyway. He tries not to breathe too much and works as fast as he can to draw some of her blood.

It takes much longer than it should; bleeding a dead body isn’t something easy, nor pretty. When he goes back to the library, nobody’s there anymore. Next to the spell’s ingredients is another note: _Gone to the store, Cas is outside looking for plants. Be back soon. D._

Sam drops the blood on the table and takes the locating spell instructions. It looks pretty standard, as far as spells go. Apart from Jordan’s blood, there’s nothing too gory or difficult to find. Which should be enough to doubt the legitimity of said spell.

“Rowena was right. I found some mugwort just down the road.”

Castiel’s voice startles Sam who almost knocks the blood off the table. He catches it in time then pushes the bowl far from his reach. Castiel comes to sit with him, dropping the weeds on the table. Sam slides him the list, arching an eyebrow.

“How does that look to you?” he asks.

Castiel reads the sheet with a concentrated frown. “It looks fairly simple.”

“Too simple? Usually, spells are much grosser than that, no?”

“They’re not all gross, Sam. Especially not those who aren’t intended to be malicious. There’s such a thing as clean magic, Sam.”

“Maybe… it’s just… I don’t trust that woman.”

“Nobody does,” Castiel agrees, pushing the list back in front of Sam. “But I’m confident this will work. Unless Haniel knows every spell in existence and how to counter them, we may have a chance to find Micah.”

Sam nods and crosses his arm on his chest, extending his long legs underneath the table; he looks right about to take a nap. “Tell me something, Cas,” he says instead, keeping his eyes on the table. “Why didn’t Haniel kill Micah? Isn’t that what they’ve been doing? Killing nephilim?”

“The only reason I can see is that Micah is no ordinary nephal. He’s half archangel, the most powerful being after God. He’s the first of his kind.”

“So what? They wanna study him?”

“I doubt it. I’m thinking that Haniel might have tried to kill Micah and it didn’t work.”

Sam tries to remember what’s happened. Except he’s been stabbed to death which means he hasn’t seen much.

“And she thought taking him was the way to go?”

Castiel doesn’t answer as he jumps to his feet. “Where’s Jasmine?”

“I—she’s gone… went to buy some clothes with Charlie. Eileen went with them to make sure they’d be safe. Why?”

“If I wanted to kill an archangel’s child, my first thought would be to use an archangel’s blade. I need to know where Gabrielle’s sword is.”

“She had it when the two angels came in, but… I haven’t seen it since.”

“And Haniel must not have it because Micah’s still alive,” Castiel says, now pacing around the room.

“Or it didn’t work.”

“Or it didn’t work…” 

Castiel stops walking to drop on his hands and knees. He starts crawling around the room, looking under every piece of furniture until he lets out a victory cry.

“Found it!”

He gets back up to grab the sword displayed on top of one of the cabinets. A second later, Castiel is making Gabrielle’s blade roll from under a bookcase. And although they kind of knew it’d be in the bunker, both men still let out a relieved breath. If that sword really is the only thing that can hurt Micah, then they need to make sure nobody can find it.

~ • ~

Dean comes back about an hour later with the girls in tow. It hadn’t been a surprise to run into them back in that pagan shop in Hastings. Not that it was called that. If they hadn’t had the hunter symbol on their door, neither Dean nor his brother would have never entered the new age café all those years ago. Finding the girls chatting over some herbal infusions when he got there didn’t come as a surprise either.

Soon, the guys are getting everything ready to cast the locating spell. And as they do, Jasmine just looks at everything in awe, her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining. If at first the thought of witchcraft had made her cringe, now she can’t seem to be getting enough of it.

“I get it, you know?” she says, to no one in particular. “I get how these women would worship the earth the way they did. The way they still do, apparently. It’s so much more… concrete. Real, you know?”

Nobody answers, although Dean promises himself that he’ll need to have a chat with her about the dangers of witchcraft. She can’t leave here thinking that this is the way to go. Not after all the shit he’s been through over the years thanks to those damn witches.

“We’re ready,” Castiel announces, pulling Dean from his thoughts. 

A second later, the angel pours the mixture onto the parchment paper then lights it on fire. The flames rise high, but only for a moment. There’s some kind of fog hovering over the paper as the fire dwindles and dies, leaving coordinates burnt onto the paper.

** 62.0079º N  
** ** 6.7910º W **

“Huh… guys?”

Everyone turns to Sam who’s looking at his computer with a frown.

“We’re fucked… if this thing’s right, Haniel and Micah are pretty far… they’re on Faroe Island.”

“Where the hell is that?”

“It’s an island about halfway between Iceland and Norway,” Castiel provides, him too sporting a frown. “I would think that trying to get there the human way will take a bit of time.”

“What’s a little bit of time?” Dean asks, fear already gnawing at his guts at the thought of having to travel by plane.

“Our best bet would be to leave from Chicago. We could do it from Kansas City but the tickets are a thousand bucks more for some reason. It’s still pretty expensive, though.”

“That’s not what I asked, Sammy. How much time?”

“It’s like a thirty hour trip, Dean.” Sam almost laughs at the look of horror on his brother’s face. “Not thirty hours in flight, of course… I found another one that’s more like eighteen hours. Still, we’d be flying for about twelve hours in all. On three different planes.”

Dean turns to Castiel with a groan. “And you can’t fly anymore? You’re sure?”

“Positive. And quite frankly, even if I could, I don’t think I’d take the chance to lose it again while we’re somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean.”

“No… yeah, I agree.” Dean turns back to his brother. “How do you wanna do this?”

Since things are still a bit strained between them, it’s a surprise for Sam to see Eileen come to stand next to him. She’s been following the conversation, thanks to Castiel who’s been signing everything for her.

“ _If Dean is afraid to fly, then I’ll go with you,_ ” she signs, making sure that both brothers can see and understand her.

“No way! Too dangerous,” Sam counters out loud and in sign.

_“I’m not having that conversation again. It’s as dangerous for you as it for me. I’m not letting you go without me.”_

What Sam would like to reply to that is that he’ll stay if it means it’ll keep her safe. But he can’t, not when he knows how his brother is probably close to having a panic attack already.

“You don’t need to do this for me, Eileen,” Dean says, letting Cas sign for him. “I hate flying, but this shit’s on us, not you. I flew to Scotland once, I can fly to that crap island if I need to.”

“ _You don’t understand_ ,” Eileen signs in sharp movements. “ _I’ll go even if you’re there. I’m not leaving Sam_.” She turns to face her boyfriend, grabbing his hands. “I love you,” she says, her voice shaky and low. She’d been mocked so often that she stopped trying to use her voice a long time ago and Sam knows this. Which may explain why he’s gaping at her, his eyes shining with tears.

“I love you too,” he manages to say before kissing her, letting go of her hands to hold her against him.

“Guess I’m not going to Wherever Island after all,” Dean says around a relieved smile, making the others chuckle. He still hates the idea of his brother going over there – anywhere – without him, but Eileen’s a great hunter. It’s almost enough to convince himself that he doesn’t need to worry too much.

“Wait a minute,” he then says, suddenly perturbed by a new thought. “How in hell are you gonna bring back Micah? It’s not like we have any sort of ID for the kid.”

It seems to be enough for Sam to pull back from Eileen, his mouth all red and puffy. He kind of has a deer-in-the-headlights look, just until his brother’s words make their way to his brain. “Huh… I guess we’ll have to fake something, aren’t we?”

“Don’t worry guys, I got you covered,” Charlie says, already having taken out her tablet to start fiddling on it. After a minute, she huffs and shuts it down, only to take out her laptop from her messenger bag. “That’s more like it,” she mutters, her nimble fingers flying on the keyboard.

Jasmine is sitting next to her, her stare never leaving the redhead. She’s obviously smitten with Charlie and Dean can’t help but being quite proud of himself for introducing the two of them. If they don’t get together at some point, he’ll be real surprised.

“You guys got a printer, right?” Charlie asks although she seems to already know. “Really? You called your printer Impala67? Jeez, Dean… redundant much?” she says, making sure to wink at him as she does. She types on her computer some more then looks up with an overly satisfied look on her face.

“Castiel, if you could translate for me,” she asks, pointing her chin at Eileen who’s now sitting on Sam’s lap. “Sam and Eileen,” she says, then waits for them to look at her. “I now pronounce you man and wife.”

It’s enough to make the two flush, although they understand what’s happening. They glance at one another, grinning.

“I’m sure you guys have your choice of fake passports, yes? I’ll need those so I can prepare all the paperwork you’ll need to go and adopt Micah on Faroe Islands. Apparently it’s usually the other way around over there, as in they’re the ones adopting kids, but it should still work after I’ve put my hands in there. Might have to say Micah has some sort of illness, or birth defect… like, no locals want to adopt that kid and what not.”

“Our names won’t match,” Sam feels the need to precise, only to be softly slapped over the head by his girlfriend.

“Come on, Sam… you know married women can keep their own names, don’t you?”

“Oh… right… yeah, that’s good then,” he says, a little sheepish.

“All right. Now go fetch your passports and let’s get to work.”

~ • ~

Two days later, Dean and Castiel are driving back from Chicago after dropping Sam and Eileen at the airport. Or Stanley and Georgina, according to their fake passports.

“We’re gonna have to stop for the night,” Dean says after about an hour on the road.

“That’s what I said before. We could have just found a place in Chicago.”

Dean motions at the horizon, a pink and purple line in the distance. “It’s still too early to go to bed, Cas. Might as well drive as much as we can.”

Castiel’s hand snakes on the hunter’s thigh, startling him. Yeah, he still needs to get used to that, the memories of them together for almost a year already starting to fade. He doesn’t move away though, welcoming the touch.

“There are other things to be done in a bed rather than sleeping, Dean.”

And yeah, Castiel certainly is right about that. Dean’s heart is now racing and he’s desperately looking for signs of a motel they could stop at.

“There’s a motel about six miles ahead,” he hears Castiel say, not surprised that he’s been thinking about the same thing. “I think we should head over there… right now.”

Dean glances at Castiel to find his hungry look on him. _Six miles… that’s fucking far_ , he thinks as his foot presses on the gas pedal. They make it in less time than they should have, unlocking their room exactly fifteen minutes later.

The door’s not even closed that the men are already tearing off their clothes, exchanging messy kisses and grunting. Castiel pushes Dean who falls backward on the bed, but rather than following him, he kneels on the floor to take off the hunter’s boots. Dean stays lying down as he unfastens his pants, then pushes them past his butt along with his underwear. That’s all it takes for Castiel to pull them off him and throw them across the room.

“Your turn,” Dean says, propped up on his elbows and licking his lips.

But Castiel has other ideas as he spreads Dean’s legs to move between them. He too licks his lips then dips down to wrap them around Dean’s cock head, his eyes never leaving the other man’s.

“Fuck… Cas,” Dean says under his breath. He pushes himself up, feeling the need to bury both his hands in the angel’s thick, dark hair. “Yeah… like that,” he says again as he gently steers Castiel’s head to go up and down his shaft a little faster. 

“You’re so good,” he praises him, Castiel’s tongue twirling around him as he hums softly. “Your mouth is so wet… real hungry for it, aren’t you?” Castiel hums louder now, the pressure of his lips divine on his dick. The spit dribbling down on his balls makes him shiver and it doesn’t take long for him to feel that familiar pull in his belly.

“I’m… I’m close, Cas… get off!”

But Castiel doesn’t move, his hands hard and bruising on Dean’s hips as he takes him as far as he can. He gags a bit but it’s not enough for him to let Dean go, and it’s not enough to temper with Dean’s arousal either. He’s buried deep inside Castiel’s pulsing throat when Dean lets it all go with a high pitched whine. 

“Shit! Fuck! I fucking love you, man…” Dean soon blurts, his own throat as hoarse as if he too had had a dick ravaging it. There’s a tilt of panic somewhere in the back of his brain, but he ignores it. Instead, he pulls the angel up to his feet to start undoing his pants.

“I want you to fuck my face,” Dean says as he kisses and nips at the angel’s naked torso, dipping his tongue inside his belly button. He then moves around to lie on his back with his head hanging backward off the bed. “Gimme all you got,” he says, already doing all he can to relax his throat. He’s been on the receiving end of this particular position before and, yeah… he’s on the verge of getting hard again just thinking about doing this for Cas.

Apparently, Castiel doesn’t need much instructions, not hesitating before pushing half his dick inside Dean’s awaiting mouth. It takes Dean a bit of getting used to, but soon the whole thing is sliding in and out of his throat as if it’s been built for it. And who knows… maybe it had been.

While Castiel grunts and moans as he works on top of him, Dean does the same, his hands moving at a fast pace on his own dick. He hasn’t been able to be back up this quickly in years and he’s just over the moon about it.

“Oh, Dean…” Castiel lets out, the last of it ending in a moan. 

Dean can feel the angel trembling; he must be close. He sends his free hand to Castiel’s butt, pushing him forward so he’ll understand that he can come in his mouth. Cas’s rhythm becomes jerky and he bows forward to hold himself onto the bed. He comes half a minute later with a shaky groan. Turns out that trying to swallow down a load of cum – or anything, really – with one’s head hanging backward may not be the best of ideas.

Dean pushes Castiel off of him and turns around to cough, making what he hasn’t been able to swallow fly out of his mouth.

“Shit… I made a mess,” he says, sheepish. 

He sits up on the bed and tries to finish himself off while Castiel brings a towel he’s run under the tap. He wipes Dean’s face clean, then the mess over his own crotch. He drops the towel over the mess on the carpet and comes to sit on the bed, facing Dean but far enough so they can’t touch.

“Closer,” Dean asks, breathy. “Please.”

“I wanna see you when you come,” Castiel counters, biting at his lower lip.

“You’ve seen me come.”

“Not like this. Just… touch yourself for me, all right?”

“Hmm… already doing that, genius.”

“Shut up!”

Castiel’s voice is like thunder and Dean has no other choice but to obey. Not that he’s afraid, but it seems that being ordered around makes him tingle all over. And he wants more; he wants Cas to pull him apart and put him back together, he wants to be told to shut up, and maybe he’d like to be slapped around a bit.

“Look at me.”

Dean’s eyes flutter open to see Castiel’s hungry look on him. The blue of his eyes is almost inexistent he’s so aroused. It’s almost enough for Dean to come on the spot but he find the will to resist, needing to feel that stare on him a little while longer.

“I love you too, Dean. Now… come for me.”

And yeah, the order could have been a bit more commanding but it still works for Dean. He obliges, long streaks landing on the bedspread and on his own hand, letting out a breathy laugh.

He’s still laughing when he gets on all fours to get into Castiel’s space. He grabs the back of his neck to pull him close and ravage his mouth, plunging his tongue inside and humming in delight.

He pulls back and moves himself and Cas around to take off the bedspread, wiping his hands with it. He’s still chuckling and shaking his head when he lies back down.

“What’s so funny?” Castiel asks as he comes to lie beside Dean.

“Nothing… it’s just… I’m just happy.” He extends an arm, welcoming Cas to snuggle. “That was fucking awesome, Cas.”

“It was,” Castiel agrees with a satisfied sigh, softly stroking the hunter’s freckled chest. “I like doing this with you.”

Dean lets out a soft chuckle, already half asleep. 

“And I with you…” 

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If being in a relationship was easy, then everybody would be doing it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hello there, my dearestesses… (what? Rachel Weiner had "Fetch", I have this!)
> 
> Please excuse my stupid brain, I’m feeling pretty lightheaded today, I shall go directly to bed after gifting you with this next chapter. How I can never let things go smoothly, I don’t know. It’s like… meh… I don’t even feel like trying to find an excuse.
> 
> 'Cause I gots no excuse!
> 
> I promise you, there is an end to that story! And not in 35 years, but before 2017 comes. Actually, there may only be 4 or 5 chapters left. Still do be determined. The outline’s there, I just need to write it.
> 
> Hopefully, I’ll be done with this story when I get to post my DCBB (which will be on November 8… in case you’re interested at all).
> 
> So, here’s the new chapter… there’s not much sex, there’s a bit of fluff, there’s a bit of hurt, and also a bit of dun-dun-dun… 'cause ya’ll deserve to be entertained.
> 
> Thank you for keeping up with me… and your reading, and commenting, and liking… you’re all just the most dearestesses lovelies anyone could ever wish for.
> 
> See you soon for a new chapter!! xx
> 
>  
> 
> .

For the first time in his life, Dean really feels like he’s on vacation. He would never have thought said vacation would be taken without his brother, but having Cas there with him certainly isn’t bad. If anything, Eileen and Sam’s time in Faroe Islands is some sort of vacation for them. Dean googled the place and it looks pretty amazing.

When Castiel stirs beside him, Dean gives out a happy sigh and turns to his side to face him. The angel – or former angel as it very well may be – is lying on his back, sleeping… something he started doing a couple of days ago. Yet he’s still not totally human, only needing to sleep after exerting himself a little too much.

Dean’s heart skips a beat and he smiles as he thinks back to what’s tired Cas enough that he’d be dozing off. Since Charlie left with Jasmine, they’ve had the bunker to themselves and they certainly took advantage of that; they took advantage a whole lot and pretty much everywhere too. 

Thinking about all they’ve been doing in the last three days is enough to make Dean’s dick get interested again. As he’s gotten older, Dean’s stamina had dwindled a whole lot. And he’s no idiot, he knows that drinking the way he does is mostly to blame for that. Which is another thing the angel’s been helping him with, knowingly or not.

He can’t remember the last time he’s been drunk out of his wits… or okay, maybe he can. It was when Sam came to get him after he spent the night in his car, before he and Cas even got together. And yeah, he may have had a couple of drinks since then, but never more than a few. Spending some naked time with the angel feels a whole lot better anyway.

“I distinctly remember you saying it’s creepy to watch people while they sleep,” Castiel says in a tired voice, his eyes still closed.

“It is when the person you’re ogling isn’t sharing your bed.”

“I think I’m gonna like sharing your bed, then.” The angel’s eyes flutter open, a lazy smile tugging at his lips as he too gets on his side to face the hunter. “Hello, Dean.”

“Hey, Cas.”

The meeting of their mouths is slow, tender, almost chaste. They kiss for a little while, neither of them eager to leave the warmth of their bed.

Their bed…

“Don’t you think it’s weird that I’ve dreamt about all of this happening?” Dean says after a while, stroking Castiel’s naked hip. “I know Gabriel had something to do with it, but… us? Together? And how did he know about Eileen and Sam, for that matter?”

“According to him, a lot of it came from you.”

“I had seen Eileen just this once.”

“Still, you knew your brother liked her and that they communicated on occasions.”

“Of course… but us… I swear, I had no clue, Cas. You could say I refused to see it, you know? And the way things happened… it didn’t make a whole lotta sense either.”

“I do admit that I didn’t recognize myself much in that dream of yours.” Castiel frowns as he leans back a bit. “Is this how you really see me?”

“How do you mean?”

“Well… how I tried to seduce you, being all coy and subtle. Or how I went to you in the shower. Worse, how I dared tampering with your car. I assure you, I know better than to do this.”

“I know you do… but I really think that was Gabriel’s doing. He’s a trickster, after all.”

“He’s an archangel, but I admit he does like to play trickster… yet, you never once doubted that it wasn’t real? That it wasn’t really me?”

Unnerved by how the conversation is going, Dean huffs and gets out of bed to put on some underwear. He then wraps the old man’s robe around himself.

“Want some coffee?” he asks as he walks toward the door.

“Did I say something to upset you?” Castiel asks, sitting up.

“Don’t worry about it… I just think we should get up at some point, is all. I’ll be in the kitchen,” Dean concludes before going through the door, leaving a confused Castiel behind.

The angel stays in bed a little while longer, going over the last of their conversation. And when he gets up to put on a pair of Dean’s old pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt, he still doesn’t know what might have happened.

He stops by the bathroom before going to the kitchen where he finds Dean. The coffee is not done brewing and Dean has his back turned to the door with his head buried inside the fridge.

“We’re gonna have to go to the store. There’s no food left,” Dean says after glancing at the angel who noisily pulls a chair for himself. He takes out the milk carton and puts it on the table. “What do you say we go have breakfast in town?”

“Which town?”

“Dunno… we could go to Concordia.”

“Isn’t it a bit far?”

“A little over an hour away, s’not too bad. And there’s more than one restaurant to choose from.”

“All right, Concordia it is.”

Castiel is relieved to find Dean’s tone and attitude be normal. Maybe he’d been wrong in thinking the hunter was mad at him. “So… is this a date?” he asks with a teasing smile.

“I guess…” Dean responds as he fills two mugs with coffee. He brings them to the table and sits to face Castiel. “Except… you gotta know, I’m not really into PDA. Let’s keep things simple, all right?”

“PDA?”

“Public displays of affection. We don’t need to be all gross in public is what I’m saying. You know… holding hands, making googly eyes at each other, making out… all that shit.”

Confused again, Castiel tilts his head and squints at Dean. “Where is this coming from? This didn’t seem to be a problem in that dream world of yours.”

“You said it, it was a dream.”

“To your own admission, you never knew it was.”

There’s a bit of heat on Dean’s cheeks when he takes a sip of coffee, trying to think about a suitable answer. No luck on that front. “I don’t know, all right? It just feels weird now, for some reason.”

With his lips pinched thin, Castiel shakes his head and pulls Dean’s open laptop toward himself, making sure not to make eye contact with the hunter. As he sips on his coffee, he looks over the news to see if there’s anyone out there that may need their help.

“Did you see this thing in Des Moines?” Castiel asks, still with his eyes on the screen. “Apparently, animals keep disappearing from Blank Park Zoo. The only theory they have right now is that something eats them at night.”

“That’s what animals do, Cas. They eat one another, that’s how life works.”

“No, I get that. Except all the animals are locked in for the night, any possible predator included. And although they never caught anything on the surveillance cams, an animal is missing every morning. It could be our kind of thing, don’t you think?”

Instead of answering, Dean grabs the computer to turn it back toward himself. It should give him enough time to think of a good reason for not going on a hunt right now. As he reads, he has to agree that this could be something they’d usually look into. But Cas is fresh out of juice and Dean’s not sure that he’s grasped yet how vulnerable he’s become.

Castiel still has his eyes cast down when he speaks. “Sam and Eileen will be coming back soon, won’t they? Des Moines’s pretty much on the way to Chicago anyway. We could try and take care of this as we wait for them to get back.”

“Normally I’d agree, but I really don’t think there’s something there, Cas.”

And there’s Castiel’s head tilt and squint again.

“Why are you lying to me, Dean?”

“Not lying.”

“Yes, you are.”

Dean harrumphs and goes into his emails with the hope that there’d be something in there that would help distract Cas from Blank Park Zoo. He lets out a relieved breath when he sees a new message from Sam. He looks up and smiles at Castiel as if they hadn’t just been on the verge of arguing.

“Got an email from Sam. I hope it’s good news,” he says as he double-clicks on it. He takes his time to read, ignoring the angel’s annoyed huffs.

And Castiel’s not patient. “So? What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

“Looks like it. They were able to find the angel and the kid.” Dean keeps his eyes on Castiel, hoping he’d would at him already. “A lot of angels are just dumb, aren’t they?” He ignores the purse in Castiel’s lips and goes on. “Sam says that Hadraniel was super easy to find and kill. They’ll be back in Chicago the day after tomorrow.”

“What about the zoo?”

“Damnit, Cas… forget about the zoo, would you? For now, anyway. Once Sam and Eileen are back, we’ll see if it’s still losing animals, okay?”

“Sounds like you’d rather not be hunting with me, Dean. Is that what’s going on?”

“Of course not.”

“You’re lying again. I can hold my own, you should know that by now.”

“Jesus, Cas! I know, all right? It’s just… I’m just not sure you fully understand how you’re not invincible anymore. When you’re fully powered up, you can pretty much run into whatever we’re facing and you’ll come out a winner. You’re just that good. But right now is still too early to just go in without some proper human training. You can’t even heal yourself anymore.”

“So… I’m just another dumb angel to you, aren’t I?”

Frustrated now, Dean slams the cover of his computer shut. “Of course not. I just think it’d be better to have another hunter as a backup.”

“Like Sam?”

“Well… yeah. Like Sam.”

“I see. I guess you still think of me as a baby in a trench coat without my powers.”

“Come on, Cas…”

Castiel, who had obstinately been keeping his eyes on the table for the last ten minutes, looks up at Dean. “I wish I hadn’t been cut off the Host, Dean… I really do. But it shouldn’t mean that I’m totally useless. You seem to think that I’m much weaker and naive than I really am.” 

Dean is about to start refuting the angel’s words but the fire in the blue eyes are enough for him to swallow it all back down.

“It kind of explains how I could have been acting the way I did in your dream. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Now that I’m not a full powered angel, you see me as lesser being than you or your brother. To you, I’m about as useful as a civilian, as you call them.”

“What? Of course not! I just think you need to get used to being powerless, that’s all.”

“I’m not powerless, Dean. I can still think, I can still strategize. I know more than most about any subject, but mostly I’m a lot stronger than any human out there. If someone is the lesser being here, it’s you, not me.”

Dean swallows thickly, Castiel’s anger having successfully rubbed off on him. And although he kind of agrees about being a lesser being, he’s too pissed to not try and defend himself. “I’ve been hunting my whole life, Cas. Without any kind of super powers. I don’t care that you’re stronger than us, I don’t wanna have to see you take stupid risks because you forget that you’re not an angel anymore. I won’t have you die on me, you get that? Never again!”

And that’s enough for the tension brewing between the two men to drop a bit. Not entirely, but enough for Castiel to start understanding what’s been plaguing Dean’s mind. He blinks a couple of times, prompting a single tear to slide down his cheek. He wipes it off as he tries to smile, but it’s kind of weak.

“I’m sorry, Dean. I—I didn’t want to say these awful things. You’re no lesser than I am… you’re actually the best person I know… way better than me. Please forgive me.”

And although Dean nods and waves a dismissive hand at Cas, his jaw is still tight and his lips are pinched thin. It doesn’t matter what Cas is saying now, there’s no way whatever he said didn’t spring from some kind of truth. Still, he takes a deep breath, determined to try and let it go. Today’s not the day that he’ll ruin the best thing that’s happened to him in years.

There’ll be other occasions for that.

~ • ~

Opening his eyes to find himself back in his bedroom is enough for Dean to know that he’s dreaming. A literal second ago, he was sitting next to Castiel who’s driving them through that last leg toward Chicago. Also, the fact that the male version of Gabriel is standing at the foot of his bed is another non negligible clue.

“I really can’t wait for that crap to be out of my system. I’d love the be able to sleep once in a while,” he says as he sits up. “What’s goin’ on now?”

On any other occasion, Dean might have been glad to be unable to hear Gabriel’s voice. He’s talking, but it sounds as if Charlie Brown’s teacher spoke from deep under water.

“What? I can’t hear you!”

The archangel looks like he’s screaming now, but Dean still can’t hear him. Not only that, Gabriel has started flickering, like some sort of faulty hologram.

“What the hell,” Dean mutters as he gets up to walk to Gabriel. He tries to grab his forearm but his hand just goes through.

“Gabe, I don’t understand!” The flickering intensifies and Dean is convinced the angel will soon disappear entirely. “Can’t you sign at all?” he asks, signing the question to make sure Gabriel understands him.

A relieved smile appears on the archangel’s unstable image. He nods and starts signing but with his form going in and out of sight, Dean can only make out a couple of words; plane, Sam, baby.

“What? Say that again? What about Sam and the baby?”

But Gabriel doesn’t have time to repeat himself as he disappears for good. No matter how loud he screams for him to come back, the archangel stays gone, leaving Dean alone in a dream he’s desperate to come out of. He closes his eyes and pinches himself, trying to will himself awake.

“Dean! Wake up, we’re here.”

Castiel’s voice is a blessing, even if Dean wakes up in a start. “Gabriel,” he says, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“What?”

Finding that they’re already parked at the airport weirds Dean out a bit… he could have sworn they’d still be three hours away from there. He turns to Castiel who’s looking at him with a concerned frown.

“Gabriel came to see me again. But I think our link’s done with or something, I couldn’t hear or see him properly.”

“Do you know what he wanted?”

“He tried to sign some, but I couldn’t see it all. Something about Sam, the baby, and the plane. That’s what I understood anyway.”

“I checked on the plane’s ETA on my phone and it just landed. Maybe you misunderstood?”

“Who knows?” Still, Dean can’t help but feeling nervous. He opens the passenger door. “Let’s go inside, all right? I’d rather meet them at the gate then wait here.”

Castiel nods and drops the keys into Dean’s awaiting hand. As they get inside, the electronic board confirms what they already knew; Sam and Eileen’s flight has just landed. They walk to the appropriate gate and find a place to sit and wait.

“I thought PDA was a no-no,” Castiel says, startling the nervous hunter. 

It takes a second for Dean to understand what Cas is referring. He looks down to see that he’s grabbed the angel’s hand on the way. He swallows and tries to take his hand back but Castiel doesn’t let him.

“Nobody cares, Dean,” is all Castiel says, rubbing the back of Dean’s hand with his thumb. “Well, nobody but me, that is,” he adds with a soft grin, making the hunter’s heart leap in his chest.

To be honest, Castiel’s hand is helping a whole lot in keeping Dean somewhat calm. Not until he sees his little brother come out of those gates will he be able to breathe right.

Which may explain why he starts feeling lightheaded when there doesn’t seem to be any passengers left to go through the doors.

“What the hell?” he says, looking around. “Did we miss them?”

“I don’t think so, Dean. Your brother’s too tall to not be noticed.”

“Where is he, then?”

“They’re probably still waiting for their luggage. I hear this can often be an issue.”

Dean nods and turns back to keep an eye on the door. He waits another ten minutes then gets up.

“Something’s not right, Cas. They should have come out already.”

Just as he says that, the doors slide open. But instead of his brother, it’s another flight’s staff that walks out.

“See? Another plane came in and Sam’s still in there.” Letting the angel’s hand go, he takes his phone to call his brother. He clutched the device almost hard enough to break it when Sam’s voicemail answers. “He should have picked up,” is all he says before grabbing Castiel’s hand again. He pulls him behind him as he looks for the airline’s desk, which he finds in the departure terminal.

There’s a couple of people waiting in line. The airline employee is talking on the phone, an impatient little man standing in front of her, looking all red and puffy. It takes about twenty minutes for Dean’s turn to finally come.

“Your boarding pass, please?” the lady asks in a nasal voice, not looking at him.

“Don’t have one… I’m just looking for my brother. His plane landed a while ago and he still hasn’t come out. He’s with his wife and kid. Can you check what could be happening?”

“Maybe he’s stuck at customs. Does he have a cell phone? Did you try calling him?”

“Yeah, tried calling and got his voicemail. So, you say he could be stuck at customs. Any way you can check this out for me, sweetheart?”

Although Dean usually can charm the pants off of anyone, this particular woman doesn’t seem to care one bit as she huffs and rolls her eyes. “Flight number,” she just says.

“FI322… landed almost two hours ago.”

“And your brother’s name?”

Dean is so nervous that he almost spills the beans in saying Sam Winchester. And he might have if Castiel hadn’t been quick enough to answer first.

“Stanley Paul. His wife is Georgina Marples.”

She quirks an eyebrow at the names but doesn’t comment, instead letting her fingers fly on the keyboard. She finally looks up at Dean when she answers.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Paul… I have neither of those names in the passenger list. Maybe they missed their flight?”

Dean is trying real hard not to let his panic show. “No, no… he called me from the plane. Right before it took off. They were on it.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, sir. If they’d been on the plane, they’d be on the list. I’m thinking your brother may have lied to you.” She looks past Dean and Cas, huffing. “If there’s nothing else I can do for you, there are actual customers who would like to be boarding now.”

After glancing behind him and offering a contrite smile to the people waiting, Dean turns back to the lady. He looks up at her badge before catching her gaze.

“Listen, Mrs. Wallace… I don’t mean to be a pain in the ass, but I know my brother. He wouldn’t have lied about being on that plane. Can you please check again?”

“Dean—” Castiel tries to say, but Dean raises a finger at him so he’ll wait.

“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t have either names your boyfriend gave me in my system. There’s nothing more I can do.”

Dean almost chokes at the boyfriend thing, but says nothing. Right now he needs to find Sam, not start arguing about his and Castiel’s relationship status.

“Is there any way I could talk to that flight’s staff? They have to have seen him… he’s freakishly tall, long hair, his wife is deaf, they have a baby. No way they wouldn’t have been noticed.”

“I answered your question, there’s nothing more I can do. Now please leave before I call security,” she says as she hovers a hand over the phone next to her.

“Thank you, we’re leaving. Come on, Dean,” Castiel says as he pulls on the hunter’s arm.

When they’re far enough, Castiel doesn’t let go of Dean’s arm and gets up in his space to speak in his ear. “I’m afraid angels may have gotten to them, Dean. If that’s the case, all they had to do was grab them from their flight and make everyone forget they were ever there.”

“You can’t be serious… what are they, the men in black?”

“This has nothing to do with extraterrestrials, but if you’re referring to that device they use to make people forget, then yes. That’s pretty much what they would have done.”

“They can’t do that.”

“I think it’s been established a long time ago that angels can do pretty much all they want.”

No matter how much Dean swallows, the lump in his throat doesn’t dissolve. It takes Castiel grabbing both of his hands for Dean to notice he’s trembling. There’s no fucking way he’s losing his brother. As panic rises, the hunter rests his forehead on the angel’s.

“I’m so tired, Cas…”

And even though they’re in the middle of a crowded airport, Dean doesn’t move away when Castiel wraps his arms around him.

“I know, Dean. We’ll find them, I promise. I will not rest until I find your brother, even if I have to ask Lucifer to take me again.”

It’s all it takes for Dean to take a step back from the embrace.

“No fucking way, Cas! You’re not doing that shit again. We’ll find Sam, but without Lucifer’s help, and certainly without God’s. I’d rather ask Crowley. At least with him you know what to expect.”

“But—”

“I’m not saying I’m calling Crowley… I’m just saying he’d be a better option.”

He doesn’t say another word and turns to leave the terminal. Castiel follows closely, trying to grab back Dean’s hand but he won’t let him, shoving both hands in his pockets. After Dean gets behind the wheel of the Impala, he takes his phone to hand it to Castiel.

“Start up the tracking app, that orange one at the bottom. I already have Sam’s phone in there, let’s see if we can find him, all right?”

Without a single word, Castiel obeys, starting up the app as Dean turns the engine on.

“So?” Dean asks as they slowly make their way out of the multi-leveled parking lot.

“It’s still searching. It might work better when we’re outside.”

“Yeah, maybe.” It’s enough to tempt Dean into rushing out of there, but he knows better than to start racing in a parking lot. So he keeps a slow pace, chewing the inside of his cheeks. “How about now?” he asks again the second they finally see the light of day.

There’s a slight hesitation in Castiel’s voice. “I—it says phone not found. It might be mixed up. Let me try again.”

Dean’s knuckles are white from holding onto the wheel so hard. His jaw is clenched and if he had eaten, he’d be close to chucking it all up. He just knows they won’t find Sam with the GPS on his phone. And if they do, there’s a big chance it’ll point to somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

“So?”

“I’m sorry, Dean… still says it can’t find his phone. Maybe it’s been shut off.”

“Nah… unless they took out the sim card or there’s no wifi, it still should be traceable.”

“I see,” the angel says although he’s not entirely sure about what Dean’s saying.

“I really gotta know something, though… Sam’s ribs are branded. You did the same for Micah and for Eileen. How the hell did angels find them? If that’s who took them, that is.”

“I don’t know, Dean. I can only imagine that they have found a way to make the sigils ineffective.”

Dean nods, doing his best to stay calm. “And you still have no access to the Host, right? You’re sure about that? You got no friends left floating around either?”

“I’m sorry, Dean… we’re on our own.”

“All right.” He turns to Castiel and tries to smile. The angel keeps to himself how it only makes Dean seem even more desperate.

“Try and find a store in the area that tends to hunters while I look for a motel. And you’ll need to find some mugwort again. We’re doing that locating spell.”

“We don’t have anything organic pertaining to your brother, Dean.”

“Yeah, we do… we got me.”

A mother and child blood bond is much stronger than the one between two brothers, is what Castiel almost answers. Except he doesn’t, instead giving the hunter a smile and a sympathetic squeeze on his knee.

“Yes, Dean… we got you.”

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing’s working as it should and Dean’s not coping with it all very well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha! See this? Not even a full week between chapters… That makes me oh so proud!!
> 
> And if all goes to plan, the story should come to an end on Chapter 17. I say should because that one here had elements spread over two chapters and it didn’t make sense as I wrote it. So, what would have been three chapters is now two.
> 
> I’m so excited for the next one, though. I can’t wait to publish it (although it’s far from finished right now… still, I started writing it… It’s going so much better than I thought it would).
> 
> Okay… so, we all know Dean, right? I’m pretty sure you won’t be surprised by how he’s acting in this particular chapter. Poor little lost soul he is. I’m just real glad Castiel is there and not taking any of his bullshit. A true angel that one! lol
> 
> I’ll stop here because if I go on, I may just be spoiling the thing for you. And I won’t do that… (Who else just started singing Meat Loaf’s "I’d Do Anything for Love"? I know I did, and I HATE this song… sorry if you do too… I won’t do that again! Dang it!!!)
> 
> I hope you’ll like this chapter… I myself just love the end of it a little too much! :D
> 
> And please, don’t hesitate to say hello, tell me what you think… you, my lovelies, are the air I breathe!! See you soon!
> 
> .

The blood drips into the cheap ceramic bowl, bright red against white. Everything else is already in there so when Dean takes his arm back to bandage the wound, Castiel starts stirring everything together.

Although that had been the initial plan, Castiel still tried to find anything Sam might have left in the car. He looked everywhere, from the glove compartment all the way to the trunk. Dean had let him do it although he knew the angel wouldn’t find a single thing; Dean took excellent care of his car, cleaning it inside out anytime he had the chance. And that meant throwing out anything his sometimes careless brother would have omitted to throw out.

Dean is feeling tense, standing with his arms crossed beside Cas as he finishes the ritual. He pours the mixture onto the piece of parchment, lights it on fire, and they wait. Like the first time, a fog hovers over the table as the flames go down. Once the fog has lifted, they both just keep staring at the blank paper, hoping for the coordinates to magically appear.

It soon becomes clear the ritual didn’t work and Dean gulps, at a loss. In his mind, there’s only one reason the spell wouldn’t have worked.

“I wondered if the bond between brothers would be strong enough to work,” Castiel says after a while, very much aware of what may be going around in Dean’s mind. The hunter turns to him, his expression undecipherable.

“I’d say Sam and I share more DNA than Micah and his mom. Same parents and everything. We’re basically the same person.”

“Sadly, this has nothing to do with science, Dean. It’s magic… the rules are different.”

“Could he be dead?” Dean licks his lips, trying his best not to let the panic overtake him.

And when all Castiel can give him back is a weak head shake, Dean just grabs his phone and thumbs through his contacts. He closes his eyes as he listens to the ringtone echoing from the device’s speaker.

“Well, hello, squirrel. Haven’t heard from you in a while.”

Each word Crowley speaks is like a drop of acid landing on Dean’s skin. In front of him, Castiel is looking at him in shock. 

“I need to find Sam and we’re fresh out of options,” is all Dean can muster to say. He waits, his eyes on the phone rather than on the angel. The only answers he gets is Crowley’s howling laughter.

“Fuck you, Crowley! Are you gonna help or not?” Deans spits, only making the demon laugh harder.

“Just hang up, Dean,” Castiel pleads but the line goes dead before Dean can do it.

“Fucking dick,” Dean mutters, not really surprised by the King of hell’s reaction. He looks up to look at Cas again who’s looking at him with his brows knitted. “What do we do now?”

Except Dean doesn’t wait for Castiel’s response as he takes a couple of steps back to sit on the bed, bunching his fists into the bedspread. The material is soft under his hands, making him glad he decided to splurge on a room at the Super 8 near the airport. He knows there are cheaper motels around but he honestly went to the first one he saw, not caring about how expensive it would be.

Without a word, Castiel climbs on the bed to go sit behind Dean, his legs on either side of him and his arms in a strong embrace around the hunter’s torso.

“I want to try calling on God. Are you okay with this?” Castiel says into Dean’s ear.

“Yeah… call on Chuck. Tell him to come see us and that if he doesn’t—”

As if he’s just remembered who Chuck really is, Dean stops and swallows the rest of his words. It’s not like they can go and threaten God Himself.

“It’s done,” Castiel says, a little too quickly for Dean’s taste. He starts rubbing Dean’s torso through his shirt. “You’re trembling, Dean… and you feel cold. Why don’t you go and take a bath?”

“I wanna wait for Chuck.”

“If he comes, I’ll call out to you. Just… don’t keep your hopes up, all right? I don’t think He’s more interested in what happens to us than He was before.”

Dean only nods, grabbing onto the angel’s arms. “Yeah… okay… I’ll go, but I’m taking a shower,” he says, bringing one of Castiel’s hand to his mouth to kiss it. “I’ll be quick.”

Castiel is a bit disappointed that the man doesn’t offer him to follow, still he knows better than to suggest it in a moment like this. Dean gets off the bed to grab his toiletry bag from their duffel and locks himself in the bathroom.

As he waits for Chuck to show up, Castiel pushes himself to lean against the headboard, dropping his shoes onto the floor. As the shower runs, Castiel closes his eyes and prays to his Father again, desperate.

And when Dean comes back into the room, it is to find the angel still on the bed, his eyes closed. He’s wondering if Castiel has fallen asleep just as he opens his eyes and looks at Dean. He wears a sorrowful expression as he shakes his head and pats the space beside him.

It doesn’t take anymore than that for Dean to understand that God hasn’t manifested Himself. He comes to lie on the bed and puts his head on the angel’s lap, snaking an arm around his waist. He almost starts weeping when Castiel’s cards a soft hand in his hair to massage the scalp. 

Although he knows Dean probably isn’t up to speak right now, Castiel can’t resist voicing what he feels could be their last resort.

“Do you think Lucifer could—”

Castiel’s breath hitches when he feels Dean tense up, but the hunter doesn’t say a word. And hen Dean moves, Cas is worried he will either turn his back to him or get up and leave. His breath hitches again when Dean’s nimble fingers start unfastening his pants.

“Dean…” Castiel says under his breath, torn between decency and lust.

“Shhh,” is all Dean answers before wrapping his lips around the angel’s rapidly filling length.

Although he knows Dean is just doing this to distract him, Castiel can’t help basking in the feeling of the hunter’s mouth and hand on him. Dean soon manages to take him deep in his throat while he massages his balls, making Castiel’s toes curl in his socks.

“Dean.” Castiel moans around his lover’s name, his hand now grasping at Dean’s hair as if holding on for his dear life. “God… please… gotta touch you.”

But Dean doesn’t move, instead amping up the rhythm of his bobbing head and the pressure of his lips around the angel’s shaft.

“Oh, fuck! Dean! I’m… fuck!” The swear extends into a rasp cry as he empties himself inside Dean’s mouth, his whole body twitching. The hunter lets him go softly and swallows Castiel’s load as he keeps jacking off Castiel’s through his orgasm. He obstinately keeps his head down, even when Cas tries to make him look up.

“Dean… look at me,” he pleads, but Dean turns around, his back now facing the angel. Except Cas can’t accept the hunter pulling away from him. He moves to spoon him, snaking a hand to his crotch to at least return the favor. What he finds is a dry, limp dick.

“Go to sleep,” Dean says then swats the angel’s hand away before turning off the light.

~ • ~

Waking up alone in bed is not something Castiel could have expected.

“Dean?”

Castiel waits, hoping to hear the hunter answer from the bathroom. When nothing comes, he gets up and walks up to the closed door and knocks.

“Dean?” he says again. 

He turns the doorknob without a problem; the bathroom is empty. At least, Dean’s toiletry bag is still in there, which is enough to convince him Dean should still be around. He walks to the window and breathes more easily when he spots the Impala in the parking lot. Dean’s most probably went to the restaurant attached to the motel.

Not that he doesn’t trust him, but Cas feels the inherent need to see Dean, if only to make sure he hasn’t vanished just like his brother did. He’s right about to leave the room when the door opens. Dean comes in with two plastic lunch boxes and a cardboard tray holding a couple of coffees.

“You leavin’?” Deans asks as he looks up and down at Castiel’s clothed form. He then huffs and goes to drop their breakfast onto the small table.

“I—I thought you had decided to have breakfast at the restaurant. I was about to join you.”

Dean huffs again as he picks up the hotel’s notepad and tosses it at Cas. He catches it and reads the message Dean had left on it: _Gone get breakfast. Back soon. D._

“Oh… sorry, hadn’t seen that,” Castiel says as he walks to Dean and kisses him lightly on the cheek. “Good morning.”

A small smile appears on Dean’s face but it never reaches his eyes. “Mornin’ Cas,” he still answers before sitting at the table. He pushes one of the plastic boxes for Cas, along with one of the coffees.

Castiel sits without a word and takes off the foggy lid off his breakfast. His stomach growls at the sight of the scrambled eggs, bacon, and buttered toasts. “Thank you,” he says, to which Dean only nods as he shovels eggs in his mouth.

“So… what’s next?” Castiel after a little while.

Dean shrugs, keeping his eyes on his breakfast. “I dunno, you tell me… you’re the great strategist.”

Shaking his head, Castiel clucks his tongue, not liking how this morning seems to be going so far. “I still think Lucifer could be—”

Castiel starts when Dean bangs his fist on the table. “We’re not calling Lucifer,” he says through gritted teeth, this time meeting the angel’s gaze. “Don’t you ever say that shit again.”

“But, Dean—”

This time, Dean doesn’t hit the table, instead leaning on his chair to bunch his fists in Castiel’s shirt. “I said no, you hear? And if you ever go behind my back and let that fucker in again, I’ll kill him, even if it means that it’s the end of you. Got it?”

As he takes Dean’s hands off of him, Castiel nods and sighs. “Got it.” He flattens the creases in his shirt before taking another bite of his breakfast. “You didn’t hear back from Gabriel, did you?”

“Nope. We’re all alone.”

A little worried about making Dean even more angry, Castiel is hesitant when he speaks again. “Maybe… I don’t know… what if we called Rowena back?”

“What the hell for?”

“Look… when we asked her for the ritual, we had to modify the ingredients to accommodate the fact that we used Jordan’s blood rather than Micah’s. Maybe—maybe there’s other changes to be made if we use your blood to find Sam.”

“Don’t you think we owe her enough as it is?”

After closing the lid on his half eaten breakfast, Castiel leans back on his chair and crosses his arms. “You know she may be the only ally we have left,” he says, curling his fingers around the word ally. “We’re talking about Sam here. I can hardly believe that you’re worried about owing anything to a witch if it means that you’ll get him back.”

“Yeah… maybe… but, are you sure that’s not something you could figure out yourself? You did say you know more than most people out there, about any subject.”

“Dean… I thought we were past that. I said I was sorry, that I didn’t mean whatever I said.”

“Yeah, you did,” is all Dean replies as he takes his phone and starts it up. He’s evading Castiel’s eye again as he waits with the phone on his ear. Seems that conversation won’t be happening on speaker.

“You again,” he hears Rowena purr in his ear after about five rings. “You know, you’re real pretty but I don’t go for your kind.”

“Shut it, Rowena! I just need to know something about that locating spell.”

“What are we, a team? You know we don’t work from the same side, right? Or have you forgotten that?”

“What do you say I don’t gank you the next time I see you?”

“Geez… no need to be all dramatic. You’re damn lucky I feel generous this morning. What do you need to know?”

Dean sighs, holding onto the bridge of his nose. “Let’s say I was trying to find Sam… could I use my own blood to do it?”

“Brother’s bond… I’ll say, that’s a tricky one. Did you try already?”

“Yeah, I did. Got nothing.”

“Are you sure your brother’s still alive?”

Swallowing down his anger, Dean does his best not to sound too bothered. There’s no way he’s giving that witch anything to work against him. “Yeah, pretty sure. So… you say the spell should work like it did when we looked for the kid with his mother’s blood?”

“I should… unless… did you add mugwort as you did before? Because that is a very specific ingredient to mother and child. Otherwise, it won’t work.”

“Should I use anything else instead?”

“No… just the original recipe might work, I guess. As I said before to that brother of yours, I don’t know everything. And I’m certainly not in the mood to start doing research for you.”

“Yeah, thanks!” Dean spits before hanging up. He knows he could have been less of an ass, but she’s still an evil witch and he’s not in the mood to play nice. He turns to Castiel, the semblance of a smile on his face. “We’ll try the locating spell again, but no mugwort this time. This could be why it didn’t work.”

“Are you sure?”

“Nope!”

Fifteen minutes later, Dean is bleeding in the bowl again, another blank parchment piece on the table. Castiel completes the spell while Dean redresses his cut and they both hold their breaths as the fire dies down and the fog lifts.

“Didn’t work,” Dean says in a trembling voice, now forced to consider that his little brother might be dead after all. “He’s gone, Cas.”

“We don’t know that, Dean… and as long as I don’t have confirmation of your brother’s demise, I choose to believe that he’s still alive out there.” He swallows when he notices the unshed tears in the hunter’s eyes.

“And how is that gonna help anything, huh?”

“I’m just saying… let’s not lose hope, all right? Let’s call upon Billie and ask her, okay?”

“Who?”

“Billie… the reaper. If Sam passed, she’ll know.”

Castiel swallows the lump in his throat again at the owlish look on Dean’s face. He’s looking toward Cas but it’s like his gaze is going through him, not focusing on anything. “Dean? Are you with me?”

Dean gives his friend a tiny nod, but he still doesn’t seem to be seeing him. Castiel is really bent on calling upon Billie but he’s missing too many ingredients to summon a reaper. And he’s certainly not leaving Dean alone to go find a store that sells what he needs.

“Dean… what do you say we go back home now? And then I’ll try to summon Billie, all right?” He walks up to Dean and takes him in his arms, flattening his hands on the hunter’s back. “I’m sure Sam’s alive, but let’s just make sure, okay? I don’t mind driving if you don’t feel up to it.”

Although Dean doesn’t reciprocate the embrace, Castiel keeps holding onto his trembling body. “Come on, my love” he murmurs. Dean’s phone starts ringing at that moment, making them both jump. At least, it seems enough to pull Dean out of his fog.

“Sammy?” he answers as he presses the speaker icon, taking a step back from the angel.

“No, it’s Charlie,” they hear the girl say. “Guess who’s back sitting next to me?”

Neither of them answer, not that they would have had the chance anyway.

“Gabrielle… Jasmine let the angel in again.”

“Hey, Dean-O! Missed me?”

Castiel lets out a relieved breath when Dean seems to find his voice again. “Depends! Can you be helpful at all?”

“Still not a hundred percent, but I’d say it’s better than anything else you’ve got going on. How’s Cas? Still cut off?”

“Indeed, I am. Pretty much human, for all intents and purposes.”

“I see… what about Sam and the others? Found them yet?”

Although he has no reason to be mad at the archangel, Dean sounds utterly pissed when he speaks again. “No! Where are they?”

“Now, just you calm you tits, Dean-O. All I know is that something happened on that plane, but I can’t say what exactly.”

“We’re on our way to the bunker. Are you guys there now?” Charlie asks, hoping to smooth things over a bit.

It’s Castiel who answers because Dean has given him the phone and is going around the room to pick up their stuff. “We’re still in Chicago, but we were about to go back home. How far are you?”

“We were on our way to Lafayette when Gabrielle came back. We’re just outside of Dallas now so… about eight hours away?”

“Chicago’s a bit farther. You won’t be able to get in without us there. Unless… Gabrielle, you think can you get in without the key?”

“I think we’re good on that front,” Charlie answers while Gabrielle laughs in the background. “So, we’ll see you later tonight?”

“You will… drive safely.”

Dean is dropping the last of their things in his duffel when Cas hangs up. Without another word, they walk out of the room, Cas grabbing the bags while Dean goes to pay their bill.

Ten minutes later, they’re back on the highway on their way to Lebanon.

~ • ~

“Charlie? Gabrielle? You there?” Dean yells when they walk out of the bunker’s garage.

“In the library!” the redhead yells back.

The two women are sitting at one of the table, a pile of snacks between them.

“What’s with the junk food?” Dean asks, puzzled. It’s Gabrielle who answers, both corners of her mouth orange from cheese balls, or maybe Doritos.

“We’re hungry and didn’t feel like cooking,” she says, spitting orange bits as she speaks. Dean makes a face and turns to Cas. “Is that what I look like?”

Castiel chooses not to answer and goes to hug Charlie instead. He sits next to her and grabs the jug of cheese balls.

“What? No hugs for me?” Gabrielle asks, falsely hurt. Again, Castiel doesn’t answer and instead shoves as much cheese balls in his mouth as he can.

And although he’s a little hungry himself, Dean just huffs and walks away, holding the duffel over his shoulder. Before he can sit and start munching on (very delicious) crap, there’s this one thing he needs to do. He drops his bag in his room, then walks to his brother’s own.

He’s not surprised to find the place looking pretty clean and tidy. Still, he needs to look around, bent on finding every bit of DNA he can. But of course, his toiletry is gone so there’s no hairbrush or toothbrush to inspect. There’s not much clothes left either, as he doesn’t own that much and he probably brought them all to Faroe Islands.

The more he looks, the more frustrated he gets. He probably should have left it alone, but before he even knows what’s happening, he’s pulling the covers off the bed with an enraged cry. After that, Dean just goes off the wall.  No leaf is left unturned as he takes out the drawers and flings them at the wall. He doesn’t care that they break, or that their content just flies everywhere. The mattress knows a similar fate as Dean just rips it apart with his knife before throwing it across the room.

He’s being loud enough for the others to come see what’s going on. Except Dean doesn’t see them; he doesn’t see anything. Until someone grabs it by behind, immobilizing his arms so he can’t throw shit around anymore.

“Dean! Stop it!” he hears, but he’s too pissed to listens and just tries to evade his captor.

“Get off me!”

“No!”

He finally recognizes the voice as Castiel’s. Not that it makes any difference.

“Let me go, Cas. I mean it!”

“Not until you calm down.” Castiel’s warm lips brush the back of his neck, making him shudder.

“There’s gotta be something here… I just need to find it!”

“Breaking everything won’t help, Dean. I’ll help you look, but only once you’re calm.” This time, Castiel ends his plea with a soft kiss on Dean’s neck.

The hunter lets out a whiny sigh. “Cas… please… I gotta find something of Sam’s. If I don’t, he’s lost forever. I can’t lose Sammy.” Dean’s tone isn’t as angry anymore, yet Castiel doesn’t let him go.

“Like I said, I’ll help you. But destroying everything certainly won’t help. What’s he going to say when he comes back, huh? Do you really wanna have to explain this to him?”

Dean lets out a dry chuckle, but Cas knows he’s not really amused. Seeing as Dean doesn’t seem to be willing to fight him off anymore, he loosens his hold a bit. It’s enough for Dean to try and get away from the angel again. He screams in anger when Cas’s arms tighten around him again.

“Dean! Stop it! You’re being ridiculous.”

“Fuck you, Cas! You don’t understand a fucking thing.”

“No, you! You don’t understand! Everyone here loves Sam and we want him back as just much as you do. But demolishing everything is not helping and I know you know this.”

Dean doesn’t answer, trying once more to get out of Castiel’s hold.

“If you don’t stop fighting me, I’ll have no choice but to ask Gabrielle to zap you asleep. Is that what you want?”

“I’m not a fucking child, Cas. You can’t threaten me with time-out.”

“He can’t, but I can,” Gabrielle says from somewhere behind them. “And I really, really wanna do it.”

“Shut the fuck up, Gabe.”

Not that he’s gonna tell anyone, but Dean knows he’s acting out and that Cas is right to want him to calm down. Although he’s not ready to give up, he really doesn’t want be taken down with angel-mojo. So he takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. Then he does it again.

“That’s it, my love… take your time,” Castiel murmurs in his ear. “You’re doing very well.”

The more he breathes, the less tight Cas’s hold is on him. And this time, he doesn’t try to get out of it. Until the arms are loose enough for him to pivot and wrap his own arms around the angel.

“I’m sorry, Cas,” he says, trying to keep the sobs at bay. He’s made enough of a spectacle of himself already.

“Don’t worry about it. I know you’re scared… and we’re scared too. We’ll find Sam, I promise.”

“Hmm… guys?” they hear Charlie say.

For some reason, it’s like Dean’s eyelids have been glued shut, so it takes a bit of time for him to open his eyes again. When he does, he’s met with his friend’s face, contorted in a disgusted pout. As for Gabrielle, she has a weird grin on her face. Dean frowns, about to ask what’s going on, when he spots the metal tongs Charlie’s holding.

“Where did you find those?” he asks, a little confused now.

“The kitchen, of course,” she says as she dangles them in front of his face.

It takes a little too long for Dean to see what’s pinched between the heads, let alone recognize it. And when he does, he’s just as disgusted as Charlie.

“Charlie, what the fuck? Where did you find that shit? Throw that away.” Yet, as he says that, he can’t help but wonder if Cas or himself could have been the ones to leave the used condom behind.

“Found it in Sam’s trash, Dean,” she says as she point to the wicker basket Dean had thrown in the hallway. “Think that’s enough DNA for that spell of yours?”

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they find Sam, it’s with a player they hadn’t been suspecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t help but think about those first warnings I gave you… how this wouldn’t be a dark story, that you’d be getting a happy ending, with me throwing flowers and confetti.
> 
> It wasn’t a lie, per say… not when I said it anyway. And everything I said about having a happy ending, that’s still true.
> 
> What changed is how we’re apparently getting there. When I started writing this, I had a clear idea in mind, it wasn’t supposed to be this long and it was supposed to mostly be fluffy and funny… 
> 
> HAH! Apparently, I don’t get to decide what happens. I tell this to someone who doesn’t write, how characters truly take on a life of their own, and they just look at me like I’m crazy… You know, "you’re the writer, how do you not decide where the story goes?".
> 
> I don’t know, all right? I don’t get it myself. It’s just… I’m going one way, then something happens and the whole thing gets turned on its head. I could always backtrack, delete, and force the story in that direction I had intended to go to. And I tried… it just doesn’t work like that. Not for me anyway. If I try to force the thing to go where I originally thought, I lose my words.
> 
> So there you go, here’s why this chapter is the way it is. Please take a look at the new tags to make sure there’s nothing triggering for you. Stuff about rough sex, and drugs (kinda), and possession, and a wee bit of torture… You know what I mean?
> 
> But do not despair. If I said last time that the story would end on Chapter 17, I can now say that it’ll actually be Chapter 16. And, again… a lots a fluff and beautifulness will happen, if not in the next one, in the last for sure.
> 
> So… there you have it, my lovelies. Thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts with me, I just love it so much. And I truly hope you’ll be enjoying this read and if not, well, I’m so very sorry… (remember though, there’s a happy ending guaranteed!!!)
> 
> .

This time, when Castiel pours the ingredients on the parchment and lights it all on fire, Sam’s coordinates appear almost immediately. Who knew old-but-not-totally-dried-up semen would be that effective?

**41.702652 / 71.159835**

“We’re in luck, guys, no plane needed. Sam’s in Fall River, Massachusetts.”

If Charlie and Gabrielle look relieved, Dean and Castiel send each other a worried glance. They know that place, they were in that very town less than a year ago. They keep their eyes glued together as Dean speaks.

“Can you show us the exact location? Like, tell us exactly what’s at those coordinates?”

“I can certainly do that, this website has street view. And… there you go!” she says, turning her computer so they can see.

Castiel is the one who pivots to look at the screen because Dean can’t bring himself to do it. He already knows what’s gonna be on that computer and he’s not ready to see it.

“So?” he still asks Castiel. “Is it…?”

“It is, it’s Crowley’s place.”

“Fuck! That fucking cockroach! I’m killing him this time, I swear I am!”

A little worried Dean will have another fit, Castiel comes to put both hands on the hunter’s face. “Sam’s not dead, Dean. That’s all you gotta think about for now, okay? We’ll go to Massachusetts and get our family back, you hear me?”

Dean closes his eyes and nods. Cas is right; Sam’s alive and they know where he is. They don’t know if Eileen and Micah are with him but right now, Sam’s the priority. Dean takes a deep breath before opening his eyes again. “All right… let’s start making plans.”

About two hours later, they’re all sitting at the map table, all with something to do. Although Dean and Cas already know some of the layout of Crowley’s decommissioned hideout, Charlie still insisted on finding all she can about the place. It’s no surprise when she’s able to hack her way into the town’s not-so-public files and grab Needham Asylum’s complete floor plan.

On the other side of the table, Castiel is making a list of all they need to fabricate demon bombs. Since the Winchesters used this weapon before, he’s found most of the ingredients in the bunker but they’re still missing some. Which means Castiel will have to drive to the coffee shop in the morning.

As for Dean, he’s handling the weaponry. On the table in front of him are two angel blades, Gabrielle’s own archangel blade, Ruby’s knife, plus a couple of guns with a crap load of bullets Gabrielle is busy etching demon traps into. If those won’t kill demons, they’ll at least slow the fuckers down.

When he’s done with his list, Castiel goes to the kitchen where he fills the sink with water and blesses it before filling up all the bottles and flasks he can find. He then brings it all back to the war room, dropping everything on the table.

Dean looks up at him and nods. “Thanks, Cas.” He turns to Charlie and Gabrielle. “And thank you, guys. It’ll be a piece of cake to get Sam out with all that stuff. I’ll be leaving in the morning to—”

“Wait… what?” Charlie says, interrupting her friend. “You mean, we! We will be leaving in the morning. Right?”

“Charlie—”

It’s Castiel’s turn to cut Dean off. “Dean, we’re all going with you. You know that, right?”

“It’s too dangerous, Cas. I can’t ask you guys to do this.”

“You’re not asking… I can’t speak for Charlie or Gabrielle, but there’s now way I’m letting you do this alone. You hear me?”

“I’m in this too,” Charlie provides, crossing her arms on her chest. “Sam’s my friend, Dean. He’d put his life on the line for any of us… he’s done it actually, more than once. I’m doing this.”

Everyone turns to Gabrielle who hasn’t stopped working on the bullets. Realizing the room has gone silent, she looks up to see everyone looking at her. “Do you see me going anywhere?” she just says in a huff before going back to her task.

Castiel smiles and looks back at Dean. “See? We’re all here for you. Now, I don’t know about you, but I think we should sleep some before taking on the road tomorrow. We can’t do much more until the coffee shop opens anyway. What do you say we go to bed?”

“What about the bombs?”

“We’ll assemble them as we drive up there. It’s not like we need that much space to do it.”

“We can’t take the Impala, then,” Dean says with a crooked smile. “Why don’t we hijack an RV if we’re all going? You know, the kind with enough room for everyone when we come back. Plus, there’s usually a table in there, a bed, and even a bathroom. We won’t even have to stop much.”

“I think that’s a great idea, but… where are we gonna find one of those?”

“Let’s worry about that in the morning. Charlie? You’re good with sleeping in Jordan’s old room?”

Charlie visibly gulps, but nods anyway. “Yeah… that’s fine, I guess. It’s not like she died in there, did she?” she says, letting out an uncomfortable giggle.

“If you’re scared, I can go with you,” Gabrielle says, a salacious smile on her face.

It’s enough to garner a real laugh from the redhead. “Told ya before, Gabe. I’m not going against Jasmine’s beliefs and wishes, no matter how hard you try.”

“You suck,” Gabrielle mutters but still smiles and winks at Charlie before letting out an exaggerated sigh. “I’ll stay here and keep etching bullets, then.”

It’s Castiel who grabs Dean’s computer and pushes it toward the archangel, not minding the hunter’s silent objection. “Here… you can use this while you wait for us to wake up.”

Gabrielle nods, then looks up to scowl at Dean. “If you hadn’t ransacked your brother’s room, I’d have a comfortable place to hang out. So, thanks for that.”

“Can’t you just… you know…” Dean says, wiggling his fingers at her.

“Your mess, your responsibility, Dean-O. And I don’t think wasting my powers is such a good idea right now. We’ll need every bit of my grace we can get.”

Nobody can dispute that fact, not with what’s coming. Dean nods then grabs Castiel’s hand, pulling him as he goes toward the bedrooms. Charlie is following them, uttering a soft goodnight before disappearing into Jordan’s room.

Castiel and Dean don’t say a word as they divest and crawl into bed. It’s a bit narrow for two grown men to sleep together, which may explain how them spooning came to be a thing.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep,” Dean says in Castiel’s hair, an arm wrapped around the angel’s midsection.

“Just try and relax, Dean… we found Sam and we’re getting him back.”

“That’s just it, Cas. Now that I know where he is, I can’t stand not being on my way over there right now. And I just wanna call that motherfuckin’ demon and… and…”

“And what? We talked about this, Dean.” Castiel moves around to face the hunter. “When you called him before, he already had Sam… and he laughed at you. So even if you call Crowley, it won’t do any good. He can’t know that we’re on our way or else Sam may just disappear again.”

“I know… doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Of course not,” Castiel says as he lands a small peck on the hunter’s lips. When their eyes meet, there’s a salacious glint in Castiel’s blue gaze.

“Seriously?” Dean asks, licking his lips. All that answers him is a nod and a warm hand making its way down his underwear. The hunter lets out a breathy moan when Castiel’s long fingers wrap around his length. “Cas… please…”

“You need to sleep. This should help,” the angels murmurs against his lips, his hot breath sending shivers down Dean’s spine.

“No… I need… please fuck me, Cas!”

Castiel’s hand stills and he moves back a little to look at Dean in the eye again. “Are you sure? You told me before how you don’t—”

“I—I need—everything’s gone to hell, Cas… please, do this for me.”

Castiel licks his lips and nods as he grabs the bottle of lube and a condom from the night table’s drawer.

“No rubber,” Dean says, throwing it across the room.

“But you said—”

“I’m clean, Cas. Got myself tested… we don’t need this shit anymore.”

“Yeah, but—”

Dean’s hungry mouth on his is enough to squash down any objection Castiel may still have. It doesn’t take Dean very long to be on his back with a couple of the angel’s digits up his ass. Not that it’s the first time, but usually that’s how far it goes for Dean who’ll come inside Castiel’s mouth while his prostate is being stimulated.

This time, he wants it all. They tried before but Dean hadn’t found it remotely as satisfying as being the top. And Cas had been more than all right with that. Except now, he needs it… actually, what he needs is to lose control and forget about Crowley, his brother, and everything else that’s been happening in the last months. And the best way is through pain, but Cas is being overly nice and delicate.

“I’m good, Cas… just fuck me already!” he says through gritted teeth.

“You’re not loose enough… be patient, my love, I’ll make it real good for you, all right?”

Dean props himself up on his elbows, sending Castiel an irate look. “I need it to hurt, you hear? It’s good enough.”

“But, Dean…”

Seeing as the angel is not about to start listening to him, Dean moves around and manhandles Cas to lay on his back, which is oddly easier than it should have been. Castiel’s dick is hard and leaking and Dean coats it in lube while he straddles him. A second later, he’s trying to push himself onto it, his face contorted in effort… and pain.

“Dean—” Castiel tries to say again, only to have the hunter’s hand land on his mouth.

Both scream in ecstasy when, with a shift of his hips, Dean impales himself to the hilt. The burn he feels is intense enough for his eyes to water, but it’s also satisfying enough to almost come. He takes his hand off of Cas’s mouth to hold the base of his dick instead. He needs more.

“You okay?” Castiel asks, his hands soft on Dean’s hips.

Dean nods as he wiggles a bit, looking down at the angel beneath him. “You?”

Castiel can only nod as Dean sudden moving up then slamming back down takes his breath away. They soon come at once, neither of them able to last very long; Dean on Castiel’s chest and Castiel’s inside Dean.

“That was awesome. You’re awesome,” Dean blurts as he pushes himself off and falls backward on the mattress.

And no matter how often Dean has praised him before, the angel can’t help but blush a bit as he gets up to grab the washing cloth in the sink and dampen it. He wipes his chest and sex clean, then rinses the cloth again.

“Turn around,” he murmurs to Dean who just hums and gets on his front to burrow his face in a pillow. Castiel delicately cleans the hunter then throws the cloth back in the sink before lying next to him. He goes for the spooning position again, except this time he gets to be the big spoon, slotting his spent dick against Dean’s ass. He falls asleep with a contented sigh and a smile.

~ • ~

Waking up alone isn’t something Castiel appreciates so much, he has to admit. Falling asleep with the man he loves in his arms should mean that he’ll wake up in the same fashion. Each and every time.

He turns to look at the clock-radio; it’s not even six and the place next to him is already cold. A sense of dread falls over the angel has he remembers how Dean had believed he should go save his brother by himself. 

Castiel puts on the first pair of underwear he finds and dashes out of the room, scared Dean has left them all behind. His running comes to a halt when he finds the hunter in the war room, chatting with Gabrielle as they etch demon traps in bullets.

“Hey, Cas! What are you doing up?” he asks, a fond smile on his lips.

“I—I thought—what are you doing up?”

“Been awake for hours… you know how I don’t sleep much.” He turns to smile at Gabrielle, which in itself is a little weird. “Gabe and I, we went out and found ourselves a real nice camper. Can’t wait for you and Charlie to see it, it’s awesome! Proofed it and everything.”

As Castiel’s heart rate goes down, the worry escalates. Dean hasn’t been in a mood this good in a long time, if ever. And with Sam still in Crowley’s grasp, he should be all broody, not excited for a stupid motorhome.

“Are you all right, Dean?” the angel asks, frowning.

“Of course, I am.” And as if to convince him, Dean gets up to come and take him in his arms. “And it’s all thanks to you… I slept like a baby,” he says in his ear, his voice low and sultry. It’s enough for Castiel to understand as the heat creeps up on his cheeks.

“Had I known this was all it took…” Castiel starts, letting the end of his sentence hang between them. Dean chuckles and slaps him on the butt before taking a couple of steps back.

“Want some coffee?” he says, pointing his thumb to the machine he’s brought in the war room. Without waiting for an answer, he goes to pour the angel a cup and slides it toward him on the table.

Castiel nods his thanks and pulls on a chair to sit down. It’s Gabrielle’s turn to chuckle.

“You know you’re almost naked, don’t you?” she says. “I’ll say, brother, that’s a nice vessel you scored for yourself. Am I right?” she adds, turning to Dean who just nods, beaming.

“Huh… yes… clothes…” Still not seated, Castiel takes his cup and drinks half of it, not caring how hot the coffee is. “I’ll go take a shower. Alone,” he adds when Dean perks up. The hunter shrugs and grabs another bullet he start working on, whistling.

As he leaves, Castiel glances at Gabrielle who’s looking at him with her usual smirk before wagging her brows. It’s enough for Castiel to know that Dean’s sudden good mood can’t be a natural one; the archangel did something to him.

He comes back to the war room twenty minutes later, freshly showered and clothed, bent on knowing what Gabrielle has done to Dean. The hunter is still smiling when he pours more warm coffee in Castiel’s cup. And Gabrielle is still sitting next to him, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary.

_Gabrielle, what did you do to Dean?_ he tries to pray, but it never reaches the archangel since she’s still cut off the Host. Cas looks at Dean again and he suddenly decides he doesn’t care so much. Whatever Gabrielle did, it can’t be that bad if Dean won’t be burdened by dark thoughts for a while. Or maybe Castiel is just being paranoid and the hunter being fucked in the ass really did work some kind of miracle. So he decides to let it go for now.

Charlie joins them around seven, her too fresh from the shower and holding her backpack over her shoulder. “Good morning, bitches!” she says as she sits down. She grabs the coffee Dean gives her with both hands and inhales deeply. Not until she’s taken a couple of sips does she squint at Dean.

“What’s goin’ on with you?” She turns a suspicious eye onto Gabrielle. “What did you do to him?”

It’s all it takes for the archangel to smirk again. “Don’t worry about it… it’s all natural stuff.”

Castiel gasps while Gabrielle’s admission doesn’t seem to faze Dean one bit. “What natural stuff?”

“You know they have a well stocked depository here, don’t you?”

“Of course, I know… you cast a spell on him?”

“Of course not. It’s nothing harmful, I swear. There’s this old recipe, a mix of particular herbs… it’s like getting high without getting high, you know? Just lifts your mood and keeps the gloom away.”

“It’s real cool,” Dean says with a grin. “I didn’t think it’d work, but man… that shit’s awesome.”

“You… you knew?”

“Of course, I knew. What do you take me for?” Dean laughs, shaking his head. Until he lands a sheepish gaze on Castiel. “Not that what we did didn’t—”

“All right, I get it,” Castiel says, not sure Dean would be able to stay discreet with how he’s feeling right now. And when Dean smiles at him again, Castiel can’t help but smile back.

~ • ~

It takes about thirty-six hours for the old and musty motorhome – not as nice as Dean had led them all to believe – to reach Crowley’s lair. They barely ever stopped and all took turns driving while the others slept or made weapons. It’s late enough to be dark, which they hope will help in hiding the monstrous vehicle.

“You won’t like this, people,” Gabrielle says as she peeks at the building through the blinds. “The whole place is covered in sigils. I can’t get in.”

Dean looks through the blinds too, not seeing what Gabrielle’s talking about. Still, he knows they’re probably just invisible to human eyes. “That’s okay, I’ll be going in. You guys can just take care of whatever’s outside while I—”

“Do we need to have that conversation again?” he hears Charlie say from the driver’s seat. He turns to her and, yeah, she’s not happy. “We can’t do anything about Gabe not being able to go, but you’re not going in alone.”

“Charlie’s right,” Castiel chimes in, dropping the weapon’s duffel on the small table. He slides the zipper open to stuff his pockets with demon bombs. He then grabs a gun, some bullets and his angel sword while Charlie comes to do the same.

“What do you recommend?” she asks, unable to decide between Ruby’s knife and an angel sword. Gabrielle grabs the sword, which turns out to be his, leaving the redhead with the knife. “Alrighty, then.”

Thirty minutes later, they’re hiding behind the unkempt hedge in front of the old asylum. Dean and Gabrielle will be the first ones to try getting to the door, which should make most guards run up to them. Only then will Charlie and Cas make a run for the door and get inside.

Oddly enough, it all goes as planned, without any of them getting hurt. The same can’t be said about the demons as there’s not one left alive as Charlie and Castiel get inside without a problem. When Dean joins them a couple of minutes later, they start walking through the house toward what they know to be Crowley’s throne room.

“Doesn’t make a lick of sense,” Dean says under his breath as they stalk the empty halls. “We haven’t seen a single demon since getting inside.”

“Maybe they’re busy guarding Crowley.”

“Maybe.”

Except even as they get there, they don’t encounter anyone. Dean is starting to fear that the King of Hell has packed up and left. And if he did, then he probably took Sam with him and they have nothing left of his to try and do that spell again.

When they get to the throne room’s closed door, Dean, Castiel, and Charlie look at each other and nod. A second later, they are barging in with their blades drawn high. 

“Well, hello there, Squirrel. I’d been expecting you.”

Crowley is alone, sitting on his throne and looking at them with a smug expression on his face. Enraged, Dean wants to run to the demon and stab him in the face, but he can’t even get within ten feet of the throne. Castiel and Charlie also try to approach the demon but can’t get any closer than Dean has.

It’s Charlie who has the mind to throw a demon bomb. It bounces off some kind of invisible barrier, rolling back toward the door before exploding. It doesn’t even go through whatever’s protecting the throne and the King just laughs.

“Where’s my brother, Crowley? And Eileen? And the kid?” Dean says, spit flying out of his mouth he’s so mad.

“Don’t you worry, I’m taking real good care of our little Moose. Actually, it’s that deaf whore of his that’s taking care of him for me.”

“What about Micah? What have you done with him?” Castiel asks.

As sole response, the demon claps twice in his hands. A petite figure appears from behind the curtain that’s hanging behind the throne.

They gape at the sight of Rowena as she comes into the light with Micah in her arms.

“You!” Dean spits, trying once again to approach the demon and his mother, without success.

“Don’t even try, handsome. You’ll only hurt yourself.” She bounces the baby lightly as she paces next to the throne. “I take that you were able to find something of your brother’s? I honestly didn’t think you would.”

“You bitch! Why did you even—”

“Have you just met me? Getting a favor from your brother was the original incentive… but then you called so I could help you find a wee baby a sodding angel had taken from you. I knew that child had to be quite special.” The hunters’ hearts drop in their heels as Rowena starts sniffing the baby’s head. “And boy, was I right! Now, Fergus… who’s the best mummy in the world?” she asks, presenting her cheek to the King of Hell.

It’s enough to make him huff and roll his eyes. “You are, Mother,” he says before reluctantly pecking her on the cheek. He then turns back to Dean and his friends. “Amara wasn’t really a kid, which is why I never had a chance with her. But this one… I can’t wait for my son and I to take over the world.”

Before any of the hunters can say a word, Crowley snaps his fingers, making half a dozen demons appear in the room while Rowena goes back to where she came from. It doesn’t take long for Dean to gank two demons while Castiel and Charlie each kill one. Dean is helping Cas kill his second one when they hear Charlie scream.

“Dean!”

They turn to see their friend with the demon knife against her throat. Her captor presses on the blade, making Charlie hiss as some blood starts dripping from her neck. “Drop your weapons and kick them away,” the demon says in a snarl.

Both Dean and Castiel obey while Crowley snaps his fingers again. The dead demons disappear, replaced by two brand new ones. They come to grab the hunter and the angel, securing their hands with zip ties. Charlie’s life being on the line is the only reason they elect not to fight back.

“Let her go, you don’t need her,” Dean tells Crowley.

“Everybody has something to give, Dean. And I’m thinking that if she’s important to you, that makes her important to me.” The King gets off his throne and comes to stand in front of his former friend – or so he likes to believe. “That little ginger’s life depends on you boys playing nice. So you understand why I can’t set her free, right?”

“You already have Sam and Eileen. Let Charlie go!”

Crowley laughs, delighted. “The more you insist, the more I wanna keep her… you know that, right?” He turns to Charlie to grab her chin and force a kiss on her lips. He hadn’t expected getting a wad of spit in return, which makes both Dean and Castiel fear for their friend’s life. But the demon just takes his hand off her and fetches a handkerchief from his front pocket to wipe his face.

“She’s feisty, I like that.” Crowley then walks back toward his throne. “Bring them downstairs. You know what to do,” he says, twirling a hand in the air.

The demon holding Charlie heads the march, keeping the knife onto her neck as they walk backwards to keep an eye on the others. As they’re forced to follow, Dean glances at Cas, trying to convey that they should try taking the demons down now. Except Castiel’s own gaze is clear enough; now isn’t the right time.

They go down a flight of stairs, the same one Cas and Dean used before. The one that leads to the basement, which leads to Hell itself. Dean gulps, worried that Crowley’s having them sent to the pit. Only when they’re led away from the way to hell can Dean breathe a little easier.

That’s until they go through a door leading to a dim hallway. They walk past two empty cells, but what Dean sees in the third one is enough for him to wanna puke right on the spot.

“Sam!” he yells instead when he sees his brother; he’s suspended, spread eagle, on some sort of torture wheel. He’s naked and most of his skin is covered in bloody lashes. “Sammy!” he yells again, making someone in the cell laugh. Only then does he notice Eileen standing next to her boyfriend with a whip in her hand. 

“Eileen?”

She’s still laughing when she turns toward Dean. All he has time to see before being pulled away is her eyes turning black as night. 

 

_ ~ To be continued… ~ _


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley’s up to his old tricks… and he’s about to meet a "trick" much older than him!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t wait any longer… and please, be warned, there’s some torture at the beginning of this chapter. But I didn’t go in to many details (I think) and didn’t make it last too long. I think I’ve had them suffer enough as it is.
> 
> I’d say more except I really got to go and wanted to do this before I leave.
> 
> I just hope you’ll like this new chapter… only one to go after this, and then everybody’s gonna be happy FOREVER!!!
> 
> See you soon, my lovelies! <3
> 
> .

Getting woken up by freezing water being thrown at his face isn’t something Dean likes all that much. Not that anyone would, he imagines. As he tries to move, he remembers having been chained up, naked with a gag in his mouth. He has no way of getting out of these iron shackles and he can’t exorcise demons; he’s utterly stuck.

When he dares open his eyes, it is to find Charlie standing in front of him. The expression on her face is an unfamiliar one, pure cruelty burning hot in her green eyes. Just like Eileen had been, she’s wearing some cheap ass dominatrix pleather suit.

Dean knows Charlie has an anti-possession tattoo, she showed it to him. The hunter tries to speak through his gag, then tries screaming. The demon just looks at him with a crooked smile before putting a finger on her lips so he’ll shut up. She puts the metal pail down then turns to look through the torture devices displayed on a table.

“What to do, what to do,” she sing songs as she mulls over her options, offering her naked back to the hunter.

He lets out an gargled scream when he sees the burnt flesh where her tattoo had been, right between the shoulder blades. The demon looks at him over her shoulder and winks. When she fully turns back around, she’s holding some sort of paddle riddled with pointed studs. As she hits him, Dean’s mind goes back to that time he spent in hell under Alastair’s knife.

“You don’t even scream when I hit you… you’re such a big manly man, aren’t you?” the demon says as she slaps him again on the chest, the studs piercing his skin. “If you knew how our little Charlie here resents you,” the demon continues as she turns again to choose another weapon. When she comes to face him again, he recognizes Ruby’s knife in her hand. “She tried real hard to forgive you for beating her to a pulp that one time, she really did.”

Although he knows the demon just wants to get a rise out of him, Dean can’t help but think that she’s telling the truth. He did beat Dark Charlie up, broke her arm… he hadn’t been able to stop even if he knew that was still Charlie. So yeah, she’d have every right to be pissed about that.

“I can feel her in here,” she says, pointing the knife to her temple. “The satisfaction when I hurt you… it’s a marvelous sensation,” she says before slicing a long gash on Dean’s arm. She then throws the knife back on the table. “I think you deserve the same treatment,” the demon says, her fist flying at Dean’s face. He’s lost count of the punches when she finally knocks him out completely.

Dean doesn’t know how long he’s been unconscious when he opens his eyes again. This time, Charlie’s gone and it’s the King himself that’s standing before him, wearing a black apron glistening with blood. It’s only when he licks his lips that Dean realizes the gag has been taken out.

“ _Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiri_ —”

Crowley’s fist flies at his face, but it’s not enough to make him stop trying to exorcise the demon. The gag is shoved back in his mouth and held in place with duct tape.

“Not that it would work on me, but it does tickle a bit when you try,” Crowley says as he grabs Dean’s face to lock their eyes together. “Good morning, Dean.” The demon lets him go to turn around – not unlike Charlie had done before him – to choose a weapon on the table.

“I was worried we had lost you for good,” he says, his back still turned. “And you know how I loathe playing with dead things.” He looks over his shoulder. “I almost killed that demon for playing so rough, you know? And although there are advantages in killing your friends, it’s never as satisfying as keeping them somewhat alive to torture them, and you.”

Dean tries again to speak but nothing passes the gag’s barrier. Even his screams when the demon start slicing and peeling off his skin barely make it out. He closes his eyes as he lets out a muffled agonizing cry.

When he opens them again, he’s sitting in the RV with Gabriel, the male version. Only a second ago, he was watching Crowley peel his skin off. Means he’s lost consciousness again.

“Where the fuck have you been?” he asks, spiteful. It doesn’t matter that he knows why Gabriel hadn’t been able to follow. “We’re getting tortured in there.”

“I know, Dean, I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to reach out to you guys and you’re the only one I got through to so far. That makes you the lucky winner. Go you!”

“What good does that do?”

“It might just mean that I’m strong enough now to go through those sigils and save your sorry asses. Except I’ll have to do this from the veil.”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

“I need a vessel once on the other side of the sigils, Dean. I can’t bring Jasmine into the veil with me, it doesn’t work that way.” Gabriel gives the hunter a pointed look. “You get what I’m saying?”

Dean knows, all right, but he’s always promised himself that he’d never let an angel get inside him. He looks up at Gabriel who’s now chuckling.

“I have it on good authority that you’re not entirely against letting angels in… that you might even beg for it.”

Dean feels like all the blood in his body has shot up to his face. “Shut up!” he spits back, only now remembering how chatty the archangel’s herbal relaxant had made him.

“Dean, I really don’t think you have a choice at this point. Not letting me in is pretty much you giving up and killing your friends.”

The hunter knows Gabriel is right. “Yeah, all right. I say yes or whatever. Just… don’t you get too comfy in there!”

“Don’t you worry about that… I have no intention of staying in there and having to let my little brother fuck my brains out,” Gabriel answers with a grin as a blinding white light fills the room.

~ • ~

“Your little angel will never want to touch you again when he sees your new face,” Crowley says as he draws another long gash on Dean’s face with Ruby’s knife. He’s about to slice again when Dean’s unconscious form starts to glow, making the demon cower back.

“What the bloody hell,” he mutters, his eyes squinting at the sudden brightness. When the light dims out, he notices all of the wounds have been healed up and the hunter is looking at him with his eyes glowing blue.

“Castiel?” he asks as he feels around for the angel sword on the table. He turns only for a fraction of a second to find it and when he turns back to Dean, the hunter’s not up on the wheel anymore. The King swings the angel blade at the possessed hunter, effectively piercing his gut. Crowley gulps as Dean just takes the blade out and drops it to the floor.

“Not Castiel,” Gabriel says as the wound closes up.

Crowley can’t be sure of what’s riding the hunter, yet he knows is that it’s powerful. Smells a whole lot like an archangel to him. Which is why he decides that smoking out is the way to go. Except not-Dean won’t have it, pushing the king back into his vessel’s mouth.

Before he can do a single thing against it, Crowley is naked and pinned to the wheel just like Dean before him. “Help!” he screams when snapping his fingers doesn’t work.

The first demon that runs in is the one wearing Charlie. Gabriel is about to obliterate the demon when he hears Dean yell in the back of his mind.

_“Gabriel! Don’t kill her!”_

“Don’t worry, Dean-O… I’m not about to kill our friends,” Gabriel answers out loud as he puts his glowing palm on Charlie’s forehead to force the demon out, making the smoke fizzle into nothingness. He catches Charlie before she collapses to the ground. As he lays her down gently, her eyes flutter open.

“Dean?” she croaks before fainting.

More demons come running in, none of them wearing anyone they know. It doesn’t matter, Gabriel does the same as he did for Charlie, pulling the demons out before annihilating them. After a while, nobody else tries to come and help Crowley who’s wiggling on his torture wheel.

“What have you done to me?” he snarls when it becomes evident that he can’t escape. “And who the bloody hell are you?”

“I don’t think we’ve met… Gabriel, the archangel,” he says, holding out a hand as if Crowley were to shake it. Seeing the demon scowling at him, Gabriel chuckles and takes his hand back.

Gabriel goes to grab the angel blade from the floor then slowly walks back up to Crowley, a crooked smile on his face. He twirls the blade, his eyes never leaving the demon. He relishes in Crowley’s fear when he brings the blade high up then sticks it on the wooden contraption, right next to the demon’s head.

“Now you stay here all nice and quiet while I get my friends out, you hear? I’ll be dealing with you later,” he says, slapping the demon’s face.

Before walking out, Gabriel shakes Charlie awake. He’s not about to leave her there alone. 

“Gabrielle?” she asks when she doesn’t recognize her friend in his gaze. 

Gabriel just nods as he takes her hand to pull her behind him, leading the way toward Sam’s cell. He’s still there, not looking any better than he did before. Well, he actually looks worse – he might even be dead if the knife sticking out of his chest is anything to go by. Eileen is lying on the floor next to him, blood oozing from a wide cut in her neck.

Charlie lets out a horrified gasp as Gabriel runs to them and holds a hand over each of them. And as he does, he prays to his Father that he’ll have enough grace in him to save them all.

While Eileen wakes up slowly, Sam does it in a start, taking in a deep breath. He looks around, confused, then down at himself to see all his wounds healed up. Only then does he realize his brother is naked and kneeling down next to his blood-covered girlfriend.

“Dean?”

Gabriel looks up at the hunter and waggles his eyebrows when his eyes catch onto his crotch. “Wow, Sammy… I was right to think you had quite the tool to work with,” he says as he gets to his feet and starts unfastenings Sam’s restraints.

“Gabriel? But how…”

“Believe it or not, your brother agreed to let me in. And he’s not happy about it,” the archangel says with a chuckle. He helps Sam get down who barely thanks him before grabbing Eileen in a bone crushing hug.

Standing in a superhero pose with both fists on his hips, Gabriel turns to face Charlie who blushes and looks away.

“Do you think you could put that away?” she says with a pout, waving a hand in the vicinity of Dean’s crotch.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart… I don’t think I should waste my powers in something so mundane as clothes. Let’s look for Cas and Micah first. Come on, we losing daylight.”

They find Castiel in the last cell, naked and pinned onto a wheel just like the others. Except he’s alone and conscious. Barely, but at least he’s not dead. Gabriel makes a face when he feels his heart jump at the sight; someone’s certainly happy to see the angel.

“Damn, Dean-O… you got it bad, don’t you?” he says out loud, making the others send him confused looks while Dean curses at him from the inside. He decides to ignore the electricity that passes from his hand to Castiel’s face as he heals him. Those idiots are too much in love for their own good.

After helping Castiel down, they all walk back to Crowley’s cell. He looks up when he hears them walk in, a bitter smile creeping on his face when he notices that not everyone’s there.

“Where’s Micah?” Gabriel demands as he pulls the angel blade from where he had planted it before. He makes sure to show it to Crowley, making it catch onto the dim lights.

“Rowena had the kid the last time we saw her,” Charlie provides.

“And you think she’s still up there waiting for you twats to kill her? She’s long gone, I’d bet my crown on it.” He chuckles, knowing his mother had fled the second she could. “And why would I tell you anything anyway? You’re gonna kill me whether I tell you or not.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, demon. Killing you will achieve nothing as where keeping you as a pet might turn out to be fun. Lucifer seemed to like having you as a pet, don’t you think?”

Crowley huffs and shakes his head. “What would you know about that? You weren’t even there.”

“I know much more than I let on.”

“Then you should be able to find the kid all by your bloody self,” the demon says, his tone overly sweet.

After knocking the demon unconscious – rather than killing him as Dean is urging him to do – Gabriel leads everyone out toward the stairway.

“Guys… how possible is it that Rowena would have taken Micah in hell?”

Gabriel stops walking to face Sam. “If she did that, then she’s even more stupid than she looks. There’s no way the kid will survive down there. Going for a visit is okay… but any longer than that, he’d just turn out dead. That kid would never grow up, which would make him pretty much useless.”

Sam nods and although he’s tempted to still go take a look, he’s not ready to take the chance to be faced with Lucifer again. It’s not like they know where the devil has been sent.

They reach the throne room a couple of minutes later. The spell protecting the room has been lifted so they dash through the curtains to find what looks like the King’s private living quarters.

“Micah’s not here,” Castiel announces after checking the wicker bassinet.

“He’s gone,” Gabriel announces, his eyes closed. “I could feel him before but I don’t anymore. Let’s just hope it’s because of the sigils on the building and not sigils on the kid.”

The archangel waves Castiel to come closer. “I can’t get out of here while wearing your boyfriend. Just hold onto him while I get out. I’ll go back to Jasmine and we’ll bring the RV closer.”

Without waiting for anyone to respond, Gabriel leaves Dean’s body. The hunter wavers a bit and Castiel just grabs his arm to make sure he stays upright.

“Hello, my love.”

“Hey, Cas.” The hunter glances around as he finds his footing. “Let’s go,” he then says, getting out of his boyfriend’s hold.

It’s sort of a blessing that there’s not much else but the asylum where they are. Certainly most people wouldn’t have appreciated seeing naked men running around their neighborhood. When they get out of the Asylum, Gabrielle is already waiting for them at the door. They all run inside the RV before she drives away, making the tires screech.

“That dumb witch hasn’t protected Micah with sigils. I can see their position as clearly as if the kid had a beam of light coming out of his ass.”

Nobody comments as the three guys finally put some clothes on while the girls change out of the bdsm crap they’ve been wearing. Dean is the first to be all dressed up and he goes to sit next to Gabrielle.

“Where are we going?”

“Not very far. As I stated before, that witch is dumb. They’re not even moving anymore.”

Ten minutes later, Gabrielle is parking the motorhome in a Biggerson’s parking lot. He turns to Dean, pointing at the restaurant.

“They’re in there.”

“She knows we won’t be ganking her in a public place.”

“Or with a baby in her arms,” Sam provides as he joins them in the front. “Who’s going in?”

“I am,” Dean answers, already getting up to leave. “Plus, you better not show yourself looking like that,” he adds, trying not to laugh at how whatever clothes he’s found doesn’t fit his giant frame.

“Dean, wait! Whatever you guys think, Rowena is far from stupid,” Charlie says as she too walks to the front of the vehicle. “I spent some time with her when…” she lifts her eyes to meet Dean’s, sheepish. “… when we worked on deciphering the codex. She’s much smarter than she’s letting on.” She grins and winks. “Well, not as smart as me, but she’s not dumb either.”

“What are you saying?”

“She’s waiting for you to go to her. I think a couple of us should go to see what she wants,” Charlie says, already with a hand on the doorknob.

“Oh hell, no!” Dean objects as he goes to stand between his friend and the door. “You’ve been in enough danger as it is. No way you’re going back out there.”

Castiel is buttoning up one of Dean’s own flannels when he comes to stand next to the hunter. “He’s right, Charlie… you guys stay here and be ready to drive off if things get hairy.”

Dean puts a hand on Castiel’s shoulder. “You’re staying too, Cas.” He glances at Gabrielle who nods. “I’ll go in with Gabe… she’s our best chance to get out of there alive.”

“But—”

“We’ll be back with Micah in no time, I promise,” the hunter says before kissing his angel. “Just let the motor run and wait for us.”

Sam goes to sit behind the wheel when Gabrielle leaves with Dean. Everyone else is looking through the windows as they go, worried about what’s to come.

As for Dean, he’s shaking he’s so pissed off and all he can imagine himself doing is strangling the witch with his bare hands. He’s startled when he feels Gabrielle’s miniscule hand grab his. He turns to her, confused.

“What are we? Girlfriends?” he says under his breath, a little worried about what Castiel may think if he’s seeing this.

“You need to calm down, Dean-O.” And as she says that, a prickling warmth invades Dean’s hand, then creeps up his arm to rush all over his body. He’s still pissed, but in a less destructive way. The archangel lets him go right before they are to enter the restaurant.

“Thanks,” Dean says as he opens the door, letting Gabrielle walk in first.

“A table for two?” a young man with braces asks them. “Follow me,” he says without waiting for their answer.”

“Hey, kid, wait up,” Dean calls after him, making the guy stop and purse his lips. “We’re meeting someone? A lady with a baby. She should already be here.”

The employee’s annoyed expression shifts instantly. “Ah, yes… I was told you’d be coming. Follow me.”

They reach Rowena’s booth a second later. She holding Micah and gives Dean a wide smile when she sees him. It turns into a frown when she sees the girl next to him. “Where’s Samuel?” she asks, her eyes not leaving Gabrielle. “He’s the one I have a deal with.”

She huffs when Gabrielle sits on the other side of the table, followed by Dean.

“This is Gabriel… the archangel? You might have heard of him? Well, her…”

“ _Enchantée_! the archangel purrs. “Now, that we’re all friends, give me back my son.”

“Gabe!” Dean hisses, pretty sure the witch doesn’t know that.

Which is the case as the new information makes her squeal. “An archangel’s baby? Are you kidding me? I knew the boy was precious, but never to this extent.” She licks her lips, a strange light in her eyes when she looks at Gabrielle again. “Can I smell you?”

“What? No! Now hand him over.”

Rowena lands a protective hand over the bundled child. “If you want your offspring back, go get Samuel; he owes me a favor.”

Dean almost chokes on his own saliva. He leans forward, pointing a menacing finger at her. “Whatever deal you made with my brother was shot in the face the second you sold us out to Crowley. Now give us the child.”

“Is everything all right here?” they hear someone say next to them. The all look to see a waitress standing there with a steaming coffee pot.

“Yeah, we’re good,” Dean says, hoping she’ll leave. But she doesn’t, instead turning over the cups in front of Dean and Gabrielle. He almost feels bad when him barking how they don’t want any coffee startles her. Almost.

“What are you going to do, pry the baby from my arms?” the witch hisses when the waitress is gone. “They’ll call the police, you know. A poor vulnerable mother having her child taken from her by some brute and his hussy…”

“Nobody will believe you’re the mother. You’re too old,” Dean says with a crooked smile. She may be a witch, but she’s still a woman and that sort of thing has to hurt.

“It’s more plausible that he’d be me than her,” the witch quips back, pointing her chin at Gabrielle. “Sorry, honey, but you’re the wrong color.”

While Dean’s jaw and fists tighten in frustration, Gabrielle just guffaws.

“Rowena, _honey_ … You and I both know you don’t want the kid, otherwise you wouldn’t have waited for us. What is it that you really want?”

She sighs and shrugs. “You’re right, I don’t care about the brat. But right now, he’s all the leverage I have,” she says, tightening her hold on the baby some more.

“I don’t think you understand what I am, Rowena.”

“Of course, I do. Except… you don’t compare to Lucifer one bit.”

Dean hates seeing the glimmer of lust in the witch’s eyes. “Didn’t he fucking kill you?” he can’t help but ask. Her smile turns ferocious.

“Do I look dead to you? You’re a very naive boy, aren’t you?”

Before Dean can say another word, Gabrielle snaps her fingers. The whole restaurant falls silent, as if life has been paused. Except for Dean, Gabe, and Micah who’s gurgling in the witch’s now stiff arms.

“Damn, that woman is insufferable… just grab the kid and let’s go, all right? I really need to take a nap,” Gabrielle says as she starts pushing Dean off the bench.

“Yeah, yeah… gimme a sec.” He goes to grab Micah, a disgusted pout on his face as he unclenches the witch’s fingers from the baby. “Ew… that’s so fucking weird,” he says, hating how however he moves her digits, they stay where he leaves them. And, okay, it’s also kinda awesome. “Hey, we could move people around, like posable figurines? What if—”

“Grow up, Winchester!”

Gabrielle starts walking toward the door while Dean stays behind, confused. “So what? We’re not ganking her?”

“What for?”

“She sold us out to the Crowley, even if she hates his guts… that sounds like a good enough reason for me.”

“She’ll just come back… she did it before, and she’ll do it again. If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll leave you and the kid alone.”

Although tempted to kick the witch in the shin just for the hell of it, Dean doesn’t and follows Gabrielle out instead. Outside the restaurant, life hasn’t stilled and their friends have already opened the door of the RV for them.

They barely have time to sit down before Sam starts driving, eager to leave this place behind and go back to the bunker. Not that they’re real worried; the motorhome is covered in sigils and no demon or angel – other than Gabriel – can get in.

The only real problem they face as they make their way back to Lebanon is stopping to buy a whole bunch of baby stuff as well as some adult food. Luckily, nothing deplorable happens and they’re back on the road in no time, nuking frozen burritos in the RV’s microwave oven.

Just like before, they all take turn behind the wheel while the others will sleep or take care of the baby. Except for Gabrielle who just sleeps the whole way back. It takes thirty-four hours to park the RV inside the bunker’s garage, two less than the thirty-six it took going in.

“You’re sure it’s a good idea to bring this monster in here?” Sam says as his brother slowly maneuvers the RV in the only spot that can hold it.

“Of course, Sammy. It’s like a home… imagine if Dad had driven one of those things back in the days? No motels, just the same sweet ass home wherever we’d be going.”

Sam nods, pensive. “Does that mean the Impala is out of commission?”

Dean bursts out laughing, turning off the engine. 

“Ah, Sammy… you’re real funny sometimes, you know that?”

He’s still laughing as they all walk out of the garage. They’re about to go to their respective bedrooms when they hear music coming from somewhere in the bunker. It’s Sam who notices first, stopping with his hands extended so the others would do the same.

“Did you guys leave a radio on in the library?” he asks.

“We don’t have a radio in the library,” Dean responds as he grabs the gun in his back. He starts walking, followed by the others who also brought up their weapon. Gabrielle transfers Micah into Charlie’s arms, making her walk in front of her to close the march.

The closer they get to the library, the more it becomes evident that it’s not a radio playing. The whole gang comes to a stop when they are met with the music’s origin. Charlie is the first to speak.

“Who the hell is that dude?”

“That’s no dude, Charlie,” Dean says as he lowers his weapon. “That’s God!”

Chuck, sitting on the table with a guitar on his knee, smiles and nods.

“Hey, everybody! How’s it been hangin’?”

 

_~ To be continued… ~_


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, everything’s been going according to Chuck’s plan…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the last chapter. I’ve been a bit busy and feeling a bit under the weather this past week, which may explains why this is coming a little later than what I had led you to believe. But we’re done, you won’t have to be waiting anymore.
> 
> First off, I need to do some kind of mea culpa. A little before Season 12 started, I went back and listened to S11 again (thank you Netflix)… Clearly I had forgotten important details about what happened.
> 
> 1\. FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS: I had forgotten how the first episodes of S11 pretty much all took place there. Had I remembered, I would have certainly made Castiel’s and Dean’s reaction less "uncertain" about what’s over there.
> 
> 2\. EILEEN LEAHY: I know Eileen was only in a single episode, still she made quite the impression all over the fandom (I think it did anyway). This being said, I obviously had forgotten how she spoke more than signed when dealing with Sam and Dean. I portrayed her as someone who signs more than speaks, which wasn’t the case (unless she was conversing with Mildred who could sign too). So, for the purpose of this story, let’s just say that the hunters (Sam at least) had insisted on her signing to them so they would learn. I’m hoping nobody was offended or ticked off by this mistake of mine.
> 
> And I think that’s the only big mistakes I made (certainly made others, but I don’t know what they are). I’m hoping that you will like how the story ends and where everyone’s life is heading.
> 
> I think some of you might wonder if I intend on ever writing Micah’s story… The answer is a definite no. I have no idea whatsoever on how to continue this particular story, Micah’s or even Jasmine’s. And I have other tales I’d rather tell instead.
> 
> Please, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts, I love to read you. You can also come and say hi on [Tumblr](http://marmeladyorange.tumblr.com/). 
> 
> Until next time, my lovelies!! <3 <3
> 
> .

Although they should have been used to it by now, the Winchester brothers still find themselves somewhat shocked to be in God’s presence. Now that they know of Chuck’s true identity, it’s as if they can feel all the power emanating from Him. Or maybe they can because He’s not hiding it anymore.

Which may explain why seeing the petite Jasmine walk up to Him and stand in his face with her arms crossed feels wrong; doesn’t matter than they know it’s really Gabriel in there, she looks too defiant for her own good.

As she approaches her Father, Gabrielles hates feeling his all of the vessel’s conflicting emotions. She’s trying to be pissed at God, but Jasmine’s whole being is so filled with awe and love that she can’t focus on being mad. Which might explain about the first thing that passes her lips.

“I need my old vessel… kinda highjacking this poor girl here,” she says in a single breath, partly worried that she may be punished for her impertinence. However small He may look right now, God still instills some reverent fear in the archangel.

The next second, Gabriel is standing next to Chuck, facing the others. He looks down to find that familiar body he’d been using for years. Sobbing, Jasmine falls to her knees in a worshipping posture.

Eileen is the first to move and as she does, Dean can’t help but be reminded of his own initial reaction to Chuck’s presence. She looks just as hurt and pissed as he himself felt as she helps Jasmine get on her feet again. And while Jasmine evades God’s gaze, Eileen locks hers onto His.

“Why?” she says while Jasmine keeps crying beside her.

“Why what?” Chuck replies, not bothering to sign his response.

“Why… everything! All the hurt!” And although she’s talking out loud, she still signs, if only to show her true emotions through rough and jerky motions. Her nostrils are flaring as she waits for an answer.

Chuck just shrugs, looking somewhat apologetic. “It’s just the way it is,” He replies, this time signing too. “Goes hand in hand with being able to decide for yourselves. Crap happens.”

The answer doesn’t satisfy her, but Eileen knows better than to start arguing with God. She turns away from Him, pulling Jasmine behind her to go sit at the table. She takes a seat next to Sam while Jasmine goes next to Charlie who’s looking out of sorts, still with Micah in her arms.

Charlie visibly bristles when she notices God staring at the child. She sends a panicked glance at Dean, then at Gabriel who comes to take Micah from her. As he does, he too glances at Dean, an unusual worried look on his face.

“Have you come to kill my child?” he asks without looking at Chuck. He turns when he hears his Father clear His throat.

“Gotta say, what you did… it took balls, Gabriel. Didn’t think you had those,” He says, evading the question.

When Castiel speaks, it’s with evident pride. “Gabriel does have balls, Father. He stood up to Lucifer—”

“And then he faked his death again and went into hiding,” Chuck counters, not waiting for Cas to be done. “At least, he didn’t go on a murdering spree again.”

“It was just deserts,” Gabriel protests under his breath.

“So, you killing people is all right while me doing it would be…?”

Chuck waits for Gabriel to answer. The archangel swallows before finally turning to his Father, a resolved expression on his face.

“Micah is innocent, he doesn’t deserve to die.”

“He wouldn’t be the first to pay for his parents’ mistakes.”

Gabriel looks down at the child and gives him a soft smile before looking up again. “Then kill me. No tricks this time… not that I could trick you even if I tried. But… just let him live. Please, Father.”

The tears welling up in Gabriel’s eyes are so out of character that Dean almost laughs at the sight. Not that anything that’s happening is funny, but it’s uncomfortable enough to garner unusual reactions.

“No need to be so melodramatic, Gabe. I’m not here to kill anyone.”

Several relieved breaths are uttered while Gabriel doesn’t look any less nervous. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch. More like an offer I don’t think you’ll wanna refuse.”

As He speaks, Chuck goes to take the child from his father’s arms, cradling him in His arms and rocking him softly from side to side. “As you might imagine, Amara and I still have a lot of unresolved issues to work out. There’s no telling when that’ll be done with. And, well… Heaven is just a big ol’ mess, am I right?” He looks around and smiles, not bothered by the owlish looks He gets back. “However hard they try, it’s clear that angels can’t handle free will. They need someone to guide them.”

When Chuck transfers Micah into Dean’s arms, the hunter gapes at Him. He’s suddenly all too worried about what’s to come.

“You’re the only viable candidate to stand in while I reconnect with my sister,” Chuck says, once more addressing Gabriel.

“I’m the only one still standing,” the archangel counters, defiant again.

“You know that’s not true. I could easily pluck Michael out of the cage and make him good again. But he’s too righteous, too hung up on the old ways. First thing he’ll do is zap Micah out of existence. And Lucifer’s not any better, just in other ways.”

“Lucifer’s alive?” Sam asks, him too very worried now.

“Of course… he’s somewhere out there. Living the life.” Chuck smiles at Sam, reassuring. “Don’t worry, Sammy. I don’t think he’ll come after you again. And, well, you can always refuse to let him in if he does.”

Gabriel huffs, getting impatient now. “So, that’s it? You want me to rule the angels up in Heaven? Who says they’ll even listen to me?”

“It’d be up to you to make them listen, wouldn’t it? I’m sure you can do it,” Chuck says with a wide grin and a thumbs up.

Only when Castiel talks does Dean realize the angel’s been standing right behind him. “So Micah and the others are safe?” he asks his Father. The sudden shift in God’s features sends shivers down everyone’s spines.

“I’m sorry, Castiel. I know you tried to save other nephilim, but Micah is the only surviving one.”

“This can’t be. I saved another one, promised her family they were protected.”

Chuck doesn’t need to answer for Castiel to know his efforts were in vain, that angels still found a way to get to the child. “Strip me of my wings,” he says through gritted teeth. “I don’t want to be associated with them anymore. Make me human.”

“Castiel—”

“Please, Father. They’ve cut me from the Host anyway… just… finish the job!”

With a sigh, Chuck sits down, kicking His feet on the table. “When I tell you what it is I require of you, you just might change your mind about this. And I’m not one for backsies!” 

He doesn’t know how he does, but Dean knows what’s to come. He turns to look at Castiel and nods, urging him to listen to his Father. Castiel nods back because he too knows what God hasn’t said yet.

“I knew you guys were smart,” Chuck says. “You guessed it; I want to you both to raise Micah, help him become the amazing person he was born to be. I’d say it’s about time for a new Messiah, don’t you think?”

~ • ~

“How long ago do you think that plan was put into motion?” Dean asks Castiel as he paces around in his bedroom. Gabriel has already left to take on his new functions and Chuck gave Cas twenty-four hours to decide of his angelic fate. Everyone else has gone to bed. Jasmine even offered to take care of Micah for the night so they could discuss God’s plan in peace.

“I wouldn’t put it past Chuck to have had this in mind when I came to be,” Castiel answers, sitting on the bed. “I always knew I was different somehow, you know? They all knew…”

Dean nods, wringing his hands as he walks. He hates to think about how often Castiel has been reprogrammed by Heaven, how they thought he’d been broken. That’s what happens when your maker thinks adding a dash of free will to the original recipe is a good idea. Or maybe it was… it did make Cas who he is.

“So… what do you wanna do?” Dean asks, not wanting to dwell on all that’s happened. They now apparently have a future to think of. Something the hunter never dared to envision before now.

“I think Father is right to think it may be easier to have some powers when trying to raise a nephal. We have no idea how powerful he’ll end up being.”

“Yeah… but, I mean—what—how about—you know—we just got together. You’ve never been in a relationship and now your Dad sticks you with a boyfriend and a baby. He may be all for free will, that whole thing doesn’t look so free to me.”

“Is this bothering you?” Castiel asks, worried. “We never really talked about this, about us,” he specifies, waving a hand between them. “Is the permanent state of it all scaring you? Because it doesn’t scare me. I’ve lived a long time, Dean… I don’t need more experiences to know that I love and want to be with you.”

It’d be easy for Dean to just deny everything, but there’s something about Cas that just won’t let him lie. Still, he’s able to try and shift the conversation a bit.

“You know I’ll die for real one day, right? What happens after I kick the bucket? What if I get sent downstairs again?”

“You’re going to Heaven, Dean. That’s not even a question.” Castiel gets up to get in Dean’s way, gently grabbing his chin to lock their eyes together. “You know you can say no to Chuck’s plan, right? We’ve done it before, and there’s no reason we wouldn’t be able to do it again. If the thought of being with me for—”

“No, Cas! That’s not it at all. It’s just… I hate the idea of being manipulated like my parents were before me; that who I end up loving was not even my choice to begin with.”

The smile on Castiel’s face is soft, yet a little sad. “I know… I’m sorry, Dean. I get that it can be too much for you. I can—I can take Micah and go. Raise him on my own, keep him safe.”

Dean brings Castiel to sit on the bed again, holding his hands as he faces him. “I’m not saying I want you to go. However it came to be, I want you and that’s not changing… it’s just… I never thought I’d ever have a family of my own, you know? The closer I came to that was Lisa and Ben, and—” The hunter takes the angel in his arms, sighing into his neck as his lips brush the skin. 

“Why us? Sam and Eileen would do a much better job, I’m sure. You know, the kid would have a mom and a dad, like a normal kid. I know it’d be easier for Sam to leave hunting behind, he’s done it before.”

“Chuck never said anything about having to stop hunting, Dean. If anything, He’s probably expecting us to tell Micah what the world is really about.”

As if he’d been burnt by Castiel’s words, Dean leans back. “How can He expect us to raise some type of Jesus kid. Because that’s what he said, right? He called Micah a Messiah.”

“Well… Jesus was actually God’s child, which is not the case here.”

“He still said it.”

“He did,” Castiel agrees with a nod. “I’m starting to think those Winchester Gospels won’t really be about you and your brother in the long run. Well, they are, but I think that what’s been written so far is only the beginning of Micah’s own story.”

Dean gulps, looking very much panicked now. “How could Chuck ever think I’d have what it takes? I don’t even go to church! We don’t make a decent living! That’s no way to raise a Messiah!”

It doesn’t matter that Dean looks like a deer in headlights, Castiel still finds it in himself to chuckle. “We’ll be raising a child, Dean. Pretty sure the Messiah thing will come much later. And you’re the best man I know, Micah will be lucky to have you as a father.”

“Us, Cas… Micah will have us as fathers. Unless you’re thinking about bailing? Like, you’ll keep your wings and just fly away to only come visit once in a blue moon?”

“Of course not. Even if I decide to stay an angel, I won’t be going back to Heaven. My home is here, with you and Micah. With Sam and Eileen… we’re a family.”

Nodding, Dean leans back in to kiss Castiel. It’s tender and chaste, the hunter’s knuckles brushing over the angel’s stubble. “So you’re keeping your wings, then?”

Castiel shrugs, his own palm soft on Dean’s jaw. “I don’t know yet. I find there are many advantages to both sides. The sensations alone…” He kisses Dean, this time with a little more intent. “I’d also love to live a real human life with you.” Dean hums in his mouth, just as delighted by the thought.

They’re soon lying on the bed, their limbs tangled up as they kiss and rutt softly onto one another. For once, there’s no urgency in their movements, both savoring every little bit of each other. They come as one without much noise, panting in each other’s mouth.

~ • ~

Everybody’s having breakfast in the kitchen when Chuck materializes in front of the fridge the next morning. Without a word, he fills his mug with coffee – he appeared with his own novelty mug again – and comes to stand next to the table. 

“Hey, kids… how you doin’?” He says before taking a first sip.

Jasmine is the only one to give him more than a nod and a grunt. “I’m doing good, my Lord. How about yourself?”

“Told you before, Jasmine. Call me Chuck!” He replies with a smile. He then turns to Castiel, pointing at him with His mug. “So? Made up your mind yet?”

“You said twenty-four hours. I’d say you’re quite early.”

“I just thought you would have made your mind already.” Chuck sits down on a chair that hadn’t been there before. “Gotta say, I have other stuff to do so if you could, I don’t know, speed things up a bit? I’d really appreciate that.”

_Lay off the pressure, Chuck. It’s a big decision Cas has to make_ , is what Dean would love to say, but he can’t bring himself to do it. He’s just not sure if it’s his own fear that’s preventing him from talking or God Himself that switched off his big mouth.

“I want to keep my wings,” Castiel then says, grabbing the hunter’s hand. Dean could have sworn Cas was leaning in the other direction just minutes ago.

“Are you sure?” Dean murmurs in Castiel’s ear as he keeps an eye on Chuck. All that answers him is a nod and a squeeze of his hand.

Apparently, God too has some doubts. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with your kind, Castiel. What changed your mind?”

“You said it Yourself, Father. We don’t know how powerful Micah may end up being… I fear that humans won’t be enough to handle or protect him.”

Chuck’s wide grin speaks for itself; He’s pleased by Castiel’s response. “I was hoping you’d say that. Because that thing between you too? This story isn’t about two men, you know? It’s about a hunter and an angel, their indestructible bond, and how their love might just save the world.”

While Dean’s stomach drops down to his heels, God just looks at him, beaming.

“I’m wondering something though, Chuck,” Charlie says in a stammer, as if afraid God would just go and smite her for her impertinence. “Not that any of us have any say in the matter, let alone myself, but… why another dude? Don’t you think a girl Jesus could have been a nice touch? Women aren’t treated very well all around the world… you know that, right?”

Not a sound can be heard in the kitchen, save for the occasional sputter of the coffee machine. They all consider Charlie’s question to be a great one, yet they’re scared God won’t like it so much. Castiel told them about Metatron admitting God was, although fair, a bit of a sexist… and if that’s true—

“Force of habit?” Chuck answers after mulling over the question. “I’ve put that plan in motion a long time ago. Men were the go to plan back then.” He leans over the table, His gaze never leaving Charlie’s. “But he’s just a baby… I could still make him a girl and he wouldn’t know any better. Is that what you’d like me to do?”

The horrified expression on Charlie’s face is almost comical. She shakes her head vigorously. “No… of course not, don’t do that! I was just wondering, no biggy.”

And although Chuck is smiling, everybody is still a little on edge. “Jesus had some extraordinary women in his entourage, you know. It’s not my fault if mankind decided to erase them, or lessen their roles, from the story. This might be one of the reasons I wanted to write the Winchester Gospels myself, you know?” He looks back Charlie and winks. “And you, my girl, are one of the most important women in that story. After Jordan, maybe.”

Her face crimson red, Charlie gulps and nods. She’d like to answer something but her mind is blank and there’s also a chance she’ll just throw up all over the breakfast table if she tries.

“Speaking of the Gospels… as you might imagine, I won’t be writing the Supernatural series anymore. Well, Carver Edlund won’t.” Once more, nobody says a word, waiting for Chuck to keep going. “The story still needs to be told. Jasmine, my dear…”

Everybody turns to the look at the young woman who swallows with a click.

“You already have the gift of writing. If somebody can make the Winchesters’ story come alive, it’s you.” Chuck raises a hand, ready to snap his fingers. “I am making you a proph—”

“Wait!”

Everyone now turns to Sam who’s looking very nervous. “Chuck, don’t zap me out of existence but… what about free will? You’re putting this huge thing on her shoulders without even considering that she might not even want it. You know what we do, how horrifying things get sometimes. Do you really wanna subject her to those visions?”

“Sam…” Jasmine says, just not loud enough.

“I think you should at least ask. She’s been denying her true self her whole life because of what her family might think about—”

“Sam!” Jasmine says again, firmer and louder this time. “It’s okay,” she says when he turns to her. “I’ve offered my life to the Lord already. And Him asking that I write Gospels is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. This is my purpose, Sam.”

“But what about living your life? Getting out there, finding love…?”

“I have love… His love,” is all Jasmine answers, a beatific expression on her face. “All I want is to serve Him. I appreciate the thought, Sam, but don’t worry about me, okay? God needs me, I could never have asked for anything better.”

Although he looks a little defeated, Sam understands so he just nods before glancing at Chuck who doesn’t seem bothered by his intervention. He’s smiling, His hand still up in the air, waiting to snap His fingers.

“So! Are we good?” Chuck asks, looking at Castiel and Jasmine who both give Him a determined nod. With a smile, God snaps his fingers.

All that visibly changes is Chuck not being in the room anymore.

“So? Are you back?” Dean asks Castiel. As sole response, the angel disappears from the room. No one has time to say a single word before they see him reappear on his chair with a bit of snow in his hair.

“I’m back one hundred percent. There’s a snow storm on Mount Everest,” he explains with a grin as he brushes the snow off his hair. He turns to Dean, still smiling. “I can hear the Host again.”

Dean licks his lips. “How about… you know…”

“I won’t be using my grace to tamper with my vessel’s sensitivities, if that’s what you’re asking.”

A little red in the face, Dean smiles and nods. That’s all he really needs to know.

“How about you, Jasmine? Feel any different?” Charlie asks the young nun. Jasmine looks at her, beaming.

“Yes… and no? It might just be that any doubt I had left has dissipated.”

“So you’re going back to the monastery?”

Jasmine chuckles, shaking her head. “No… clearly, the Christians have it all wrong. As pretty much every other religion, obviously. I will stay God’s servant, but in my own way. Hopefully the future generations will be able to spread His love the way it was meant to be.”

“You can stay here if you want,” Castiel offers, knowing the brothers wouldn’t mind.

“Thank you, but I’d rather go back home. I miss my family… they’ll be disappointed to see me defrock but I can’t live a lie, you know? Not anymore.”

“I’ll drive you home, then,” Charlie offers with a smile.

“Or I could just… fly you home,” Castiel says. “You’d be there in a second.”

With a bit of heat on her cheeks, Jasmine’s gaze travels between both of them. “Thank you so much for the offer, Castiel… but I think I’d rather go with Charlie.” Her smile is soft, hesitant. “I think I may have a lot of questions to ask her. About… stuff.”

She doesn’t need to say anymore for everyone to understand, or believe they understand. Not that they’ll be asking Jasmine to confirm whatever it is that she has in mind. Charlie’s own reddened cheeks are enough to understand what kind of stuff she needs help with.

~ • ~

That very evening is the first one they spend as a family. Not to say that Charlie, or even Jasmine, weren’t part of the family. But this, both brothers having dinner with their significant others and Micah gurgling in his chair, it feels a whole lot domestic. And real.

“So… what now?” Sam asks between bites of lasagna. Now that Cas had his wings back, he had insisted on grabbing their dinner right from the source; in this case, some little family restaurant in Northern Italy.

“What now, what?” Dean answers, his mouth full of the pasta dish.

“What happens when we find a hunt? What happens with Micah? We can’t bring him along, Dean… he’s just a baby.”

“Well… maybe we could ask—” 

Dean knows better than to finish his thought when he sees Eileen’s dark stare on him as he turns to her.

“Better not say it,” she warns him. “I’m a hunter, not a babysitter.”

Dean nods, because of course she’s right. Why would the girl in her group automatically be asked to stay home with the kid? Except he can’t stay home either, he’s a hunter too… they’re all hunters. Agreeing to raise Micah could very well be the worst decision they’ve ever made.

“I think we should take turns,” Castiel suggests, knowing where Dean’s thoughts are heading. “Next hunt, I stay home with Micah. Then the one after that, you can stay.”

“I guess…”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Sam offers, smiling. “Like, a shared custody type situation.”

“Maybe Sam and me could go alone sometimes,” Eileen says and signs, smirking. “Not all monsters need three people to hunt them.”

Neither Sam or Dean can deny that, having worked as a duo for the greatest part of their lives. And although it makes Dean nervous to think of his brother going on hunts without him, he knows Eileen is capable enough to have his back.

“Speaking of hunts… found earlier what looks like a haunting in Arkansas, not too far from Little Rock. Maybe we should go while you guys stay here?” Sam says, looking hopeful, hoping Dean won’t object. “You know… getting used to being fathers and what not.”

Surprised to find the same look on Castiel’s face, Dean sighs and nods. “All right, let’s try that. But if you run into any trouble—” he starts, pointing his fork at his brother.

“I know! I’m calling you!”

“Better yet, just pray to me,” Cas counters. “It’ll be imminently faster.”

Everybody seems satisfied except the baby who starts fussing in his seat. Dean is the first to move, taking Micah in his arms. As he looks into the child’s – his child’s – eyes, Dean can feel his worries melt and his heart expand. 

And as Castiel’s arm snakes around his waist as they walk back to Micah’s room, he truly believes – for the first time in his life – that everything’s gonna be all right.

~ • ~

A little over two hundred miles away, sitting behind the wheel of her yellow Gremlin, Charlie glances at Jasmine sitting on the passenger seat. The new prophet just started up the brand new computer on her lap. 

Jasmine’s fingers are flying on the keyboard as she witnesses the new family’s bond strenghten over the angel changing a dirty diaper and the hunter humming The Beatles’ _Hey Jude_.

She smiles… everything’s gonna be all right, indeed.

 

_~ The End ~_

**Author's Note:**

> Like I often do because I’m just damn impatient, this story isn’t beta’d. All mistakes are mine. Unlike the characters, which sucks. Just don’t tell anyone! :-D
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


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